Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2008)
Smoke Signals 3 MAY 15, 2008 RsidlwDrk seasoni lhB3iDiro ODOT hopes to ease traffic problems on Highway 18 this summer By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer Highway 18, the main route to Grand Ronde and Spirit Mountain Casino, will undergo a major face lift this summer and next. The state Department of Trans portation is calling one of this summer's biggest restoration proj ects the "megapave," during which almost 14 miles of Highway 18 will be repaved. The repaying project started last summer at Highway 101 on the Oregon coast and ended at Valley Junction east of Grand Ronde. This summer's repaying work will reach all the way to Oldsville Road west of McMinnville. Paving will be done from mile post 27 near Willamina, past Sheridan, to mile post 40.34 at Oldsville Road. Cones are already deployed on High way 18 to prepare shoulders and guard rails before paving starts. Also occurring this summer will be a project that will totally remake the section of highway between Wil lamina and Fort Hill. The Fort Hill Road to Wallace Bridge project is a $15 million investment that intends to bring Highway 18 up to rural expressway standards by widening the road and consolidating access points. A new interchange east of Fort Hill will replace the existing in tersection of the highway with Fort Hill Road (to the north) and Yamhill River Road (to the south). A new frontage road will be con structed on the north side of the highway to connect the interchange with Fort Hill Road to provide ac cess to local residences, the Fort Hill restaurant and gas station and Cascade Structural Laminators, formerly Fort Hill Lumber. Turns near the Fort Hill Road in tersection were responsible for nine accidents in 2006, the most recent year for which ODOT has numbers. This is a notorious bottleneck for drivers familiar with Grand Itonde as traffic slows to allow cars and pedestrians to exit or enter the highway. ODOT placed the Fort Hill inter section among the top 5 percent of dangerous roadways in the state. More than 19,000 vehicles pass, through the intersection daily. The Fort Mill Kond to Wallace Bridge project will: Widen the existing three-lane roadway to include four travel lanes with n concrete barrier in the median; Construct a frontage road behind the Fort Hill restaurant and ser vice station that connects to the new interchange; Construct n new interchange about three-quarters of a mile east of Fort Hill Kond to replace the existing Fort Hill KoadSouth Yamhill River Road intersec tion; Close or relocate some driveways to reduce the number of direct access points to the highway and to improve safety; Add acceleration lanes. Achieving a safer intersection, said Adam Torgerson, Public Infor mation Officer for ODOT's Region 2 North, means eliminating left turns across traffic. ODOT built shoulder and median rumble strips on this section of the highway back in 2000, and though the project decreased the number of accidents for a time, continued increases in traffic and speed have pushed the accident numbers back up, Torgerson said. Trucks with gravel for both proj ects will be rumbling into and out of a staging point at the Old Mill in Grand Ronde, four-tenths of a mile west of Grand Ronde Road on the north side of the road. The construction schedule is go ing to leave the area with a single lane in each direction for much of the summer, and a single lane for both directions on weeknights when the traffic is lowest. "For both projects, workers will flag single lane traffic only at night, excluding Fridays, Saturdays and holidays when the travel lanes will remain open around the clock," Torgerson said. Though there may be ongoing work during the day, it will be such that it does not close any lanes with the exception of a passing lane." McMinnville-based Oregon Main line Paving LLC was awarded through a competitive bid process both Oregon 18 projects. The Fort Hill to Wallace Bridge project will be completed in 2009. Oregon 22, Sourgrass Creek (Indian Bridge), a third ODOT project in the nren, is nnothcr general maintenance project to be completed this summer. Iiratetl at mile post 12.5 between Dolph Junction and Grand Ronde on Three Rivers Highway, nlso known as Oregon 22, and I lelw Road, Sour- grass Creek Bridge was constructed in 2007, replacing an old culvert to improve fish passage. Most of the work will take place off the road where drainage and bridge support work are still need ed, according to Project Manager Shane Ottosen. Part of the time, one lane will be used for truck de livery access, he said. It is not expected to have as sig- Map created by George Valdez nificant an effect on either coastal or casino traffic as the two Highway 18 projects. With a $2.1 million price tag, Sourgrass Creek Bridge project is expected to be completed in three to five weeks this summer, from July 5 into August. Gresham-based M. J. Hughes Construction Inc. is the contrac tor, n Governor visiting Grand Ronde on Memorial Day Kulongoski's name to be added to Veterans' Memorial By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor Gov. Ted Kulongoski will make a return trip to Grand Ronde on Memorial Day, May 26, and he will leave behind something after he returns to Salem. His name. During a 3 p.m. ceremony at the Grand Ronde Veterans' Memorial, the names of more than 40 local war veterans will be added to the memo rial, as well as Kulongoski's. Kulongoski, 67, grew up in St. Louis, Mo., and after graduating from high school he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in Southeast Asia. Kulongoski's appearance will be " " " the culmination of Memorial Day events in Grand Ronde, which start at 8 a.m. when the Tribal Honor Guard, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4211, the Northwest Indian Veterans" Association, AM VETS Post 2000 nnd American Legion Post 75 conduct services nt Grand Ronde Cemetery on Grand Ronde Road. At 3 p.m., the same veterans' groups will conduct services at the Grand Ronde Veterans' Memorial and add the names of local war veterans to the memorial. Kulongoski will be the keynote speaker. For more information, call Carl Imbert nt 503-879-4222 or Gene IaBonte nt 503-879-53 12. B '(-.) ... ' Gov. Tod Kulongoski
