A nationwide railway strike was averted Thursday after unions reached tentative deals Thursday. Earlier in the week, Oregon highway officials were preparing for the possibility of all trains being shut down ahead of the possible strike.

Union Pacific is "pleased tentative agreements have been reached with the rail labor unions," the company said in a news release Thursday,

"We look forward to the unions ratifying these agreements and working with employees as we focus on restoring supply chain fluidity," Union Pacific said.

Along with long-distance routes, some shorter state-supported routes, including Amtrak Cascades in the Pacific Northwest, were set to be canceled for Thursday evening, Amtrak said Wednesday. They are now being restored.

Tens of thousands of railroad workers threatened to begin striking as early as Friday as they negotiated to obtain better working conditions.

National story:Biden hails railroad labor deal as a 'big win for America' as strike is averted: live updates

The Oregon Department of Transportation was monitoring the situation, according to department spokesperson Shelley Snow.

Snow said ODOT prepared by ensuring buses were available Thursday for those impacted by canceled routes on Amtrak Cascades, which has routes from Eugene to Portland and Portland to Seattle. Those buses were through ODOT's Oregon Point bus route.

Prior to the strike being averted, those with Amtrak tickets were able to request they switch to a bus pass along the Cascades route, or to get a refund if the routes were canceled.

Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.