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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2017 Culverts: Expect an increase in road projects in the future Continued from Page 1A varying levels of poor condi- tions. But the issues with those culverts are not as urgent as the ones the state is experi- encing, according to data from multiple local public works officials. Other priorities Mark Buffington, direc- tor of the local ODOT region, said reduced personnel over the years have redirected pri- orities away from culverts. As a rule of thumb, the depart- ment has tended to focus its road maintenance efforts toward the center of roads — which create the most traffic issues — before repairing the edges. But while culverts may be underground, drivers con- stantly witness their effects when a crack forms that spans the road. “Generally, crews look for cracks, and there you’ll find a culvert,” Buffington said. “What we’ve discovered over the years is culverts are pretty important to the maintenance of the road.” When a culvert fails, it can lead to fish-passage issues, as well as safety hazards. Depending on the sever- ity of the failure and the cul- vert’s location, ODOT prefers to line the inside of the cul- vert with plastic, which typi- cally closes a portion of road for a day. If not, the depart- ment must replace it, often resulting in multiple weeks of road closure and significantly higher costs. “It’s really quite compli- cated to do,” Buffington said. In late 2015 and early 2016, the transportation department spent roughly $300,000 for an emergency replacement of a culvert that collapsed due to a flood, ren- dering a stretch of state High- way 202 just south of Ord- way Lane impassable. The project took weeks to com- plete, forced drivers to take a lengthy detour along Walluski Loop and created friction between ODOT and neigh- bors, who were concerned a new culvert would cause the adjacent Youngs River to flood their properties. Though the new culvert remains in place, effects of the emergency replacement persist. Deteriorations of two stretches on Walluski Loop Road were expedited by the heavier traffic from the detour. In late June, Clatsop County hired a contractor to pave sections of road at a cost of more than $114,000. Long-term effort Many of the culverts that are failing were installed in the 1950s and 1960s. Decades later, ODOT does not know exactly how many of them lie under their roads. The department is about halfway through a six- to eight-year effort to enter the culverts in an online database using geo- graphic information system mapping, Buffington said. The state Legislature’s $5.3 billion transportation bill may also be a step forward, as 30 percent of ODOT’s share will be allocated to pavement preservation and state high- way maintenance. In other words, expect an increase in road projects. “It’s part of the business,” ODOT spokesman Lou Tor- res said. “We’re going to impact things. There’s no way around it.” ABOVE: According to in- formation from the Oregon Department of Transportation, 30 percent of culverts under their highways in northwest Oregon are in poor or failing condition and efforts have accelerated in recent years to replace them. There are 826 culverts under state highways in Clatsop County. LEFT: According to ODOT, many of the culverts that are failing were installed in the 1950s and 1960s and they are unsure just how many there are under highways in north- west Oregon. Markings on a state highway in- dicate where work on a culvert needs to be performed as efforts to replace aging infrastructure in northwest Oregon has accelerat- ed in recent years. Photos by Colin Murphey The Daily Astorian Protecting Our Waters 22 for 7 YEARS H ONORING OUR U.S. C OAST G UARD AMBULANCE SERVICE, INC. ON THEIR 227 TH BIRTHDAY ! Locally Owned and Operated Thank you for your service! Local public affairs Eclectic music NPR 191 S. M AIN A VE . W ARRENTON 503-861-2271 L IKE US ON WWW . MAINSTSELECT . COM A Thank you for all you do! ffordable TOWING & REPAIR North Co. 503-458-5588 South Co. 503-338-6402 2325 SE Dolphin Ave. Warrenton 503-861-5554 IN AN EMERGENCY CALL 911 2 4 H R S E RV I C E s W hy T hat’ re H ere! W e’ With Appreciation for your selfless acts... Happy 227th Birthday, US Coast Guard! KMUN 91.9 FM KTCB 89.5 FM KCPB 90.9 FM CoastRadio.org Hours: Everyday 9 AM - 7 PM Keith Klatt, MD Sally Baker, PA-C Mark Tabor, PA-C A CCEPTING MOST I NSURANCE , OHP & M EDICARE 20% C ASH D ISCOUNT C latsop D istributing C ompany 503-325-0333 2 1 2 0 Exchange Street, Suite 111 Astoria, Oregon www.urgentcarenwastoria.com THANK YOU for safeguarding our shores 1375 SE 12TH PLACE, WARRENTON • 503-861-4275 Clatsop Distributing Company distributes many Pacific Northwest brews