Coos and Douglas counties began lobbying the state government for major widening and straightening of OR 42 in the late 1940s due to unsafe conditions and heavy use. A group of 140 women from the area appealed directly to the
Oregon State Highway Commission in 1957 for improvements, but were turned away. OR 42 was extended west in December 1960 after US 101 was realigned away from Coquille. A proposal to re-designate the old alignment as U.S. Route 101 Alternate was rejected by the
American Association of State Highway Officials in 1971.
2015 landslide On December 23, 2015, a large
landslide on a section of OR 42 near the
Coos–
Douglas county line closed the highway to traffic. The section of highway was undergoing part of a $11 million realignment project to straighten the roadway; the area above the slide was
clear-cut as part of construction. ==Major intersections==