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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2019)
6A | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Highway from A1 death of cyclist Jane Hig- don on May 31, 2006. “When I’ve talked to people about constructing next summer, some people get moved to tears,” Taylor said. “They can’t believe it. They’re so excited. And they knew Jane Higdon or they bicycle and they’ve been terrifi ed.” Oregon State Police reported at the time that Higdon was biking behind three other cyclists when the second cyclist in line crashed. According to the police report account: At the same time, the approaching southbound 2004 Kenworth truck and pole trailer, driven by John McWhorter, 31, of Winston, was slowing down and moving over to pass the bi- cyclists. To avoid the other bi- cyclist who had gone down, Higdon moved into the southbound lane. McWhorter then moved to- ward the northbound lane in an attempt to avoid Hig- don, but the right side of the truck struck her. Because of the road’s “geometric condition,” the truck driver was found not to be at fault and no cita- tion was issued. None of the other three bicyclists were injured. In the years following the tragedy, efforts to address the highway’s dangers were slow going, partly due to jurisdictional con- SUMMER trol resting with the state. From the state’s viewpoint, Taylor said, Territorial is low on the list of priorities. “There are so many fa- cilities that, from a crash data perspective or from a resource perspective, it just wasn’t getting attention,” she said. In 2014, Lane County applied for and successful- ly secured $440,000 from the Transportation Com- munity and System Preser- vation Program for a plan- ning process to involve the community in fi nding a de- sign solution. “We had public work- shops at King Estate and Lorane Grange,” Taylor said, “and that’s where we looked at current roadway alignment and what the community would prefer.” County offi cials inter- viewed stakeholders in- cluding bicycle riding groups, freight companies, local land holders and area residents. Community in- put from these meetings in- dicated a desire to protect the natural environment and preserve the rural char- acter of the roadway while softening sharp curves and widening the shoulders. Meanwhile, Lane Coun- ty worked to acquire ad- ditional funding in order to deliver the communi- ty-preferred design and more than 100 interested parties were kept updated periodically over the years on the status of the project. The conclusions of the planning process were doc- umented in the county’s 2016 Technical Report, though at the time funding for the project was still in question. “Back when we were planning this, we had no idea where the funding would come from,” Taylor said. A major turning point came in 2017 with the passage of Keep Oregon Moving, Oregon’s land- mark transportation pack- age (HB 2017). Included in the bill was a provision to transfer the 42-mile stretch of Territorial Highway within Lane County from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to county jurisdiction. A one-time payment of $2.3 million needed for improvements and main- tenance was also allocated and the state is to provide a total of $30 million over the next fi ve years. Taylor said this was ex- actly the kind move the highway project needed. “The thought was that, as a feature that’s running from county line to county line, if it was under county jurisdiction, we would take better care of it,” she said. “Lane County recently got jurisdiction in March of the entire highway, from the north county line to the south county line.” Taylor also pointed out that Higdon happened to be friends with state Sen. Floyd Prozanski, “and he was very instrumental in elevating this as a priority and getting the jurisdic- tional transfer from the state,” she said. Transfer of some main- tenance responsibilities will also be shifted to the county in three phases over fi ve years as ODOT has committed to repairing bridges and bringing sec- tions of the road in Veneta up to code in line with the Americans with Disabili- ties Act. Despite the funding and jurisdictional shift, the condition of the highway makes improvement plans a costly undertaking that the county cannot com- pletely afford. “The amount of funding that we got is not enough to bring all of the highway into good condition,” said Taylor, “but we are going to be prioritizing mainte- nance and safety.” Even so, with improve- ment plans and a feasibility study completed, the coun- ty is moving ahead with an informational meeting June 20 for public review and comments. As they currently stand, plans are to initiate im- provements in four phases, which will take place over four summer projects. Phase 1 will begin in 2020 at a midway section of the highway, which ad- dresses a landslide hazard at Stony Point and realign- ment of the section’s par- ticularly sharp curves. Phase 2 construction will address the northern part of the corridor at Gilles- pie Corners in 2021. The curves of the road there will also be softened and two bridges will be raised and widened. Phase 3’s 2022 construc- tion will realign the corners of a segment between Easy Acres Drive and Hamm Road. Phase 4 will complete construction in 2023 on the corridor’s southern half between Territorial Lane and Cottage Grove-Lo- rane Road, implementing improvements the latter’s intersection and more soft- ening of curves along the roadway. Each phase will also widen the road to include six-foot shoulders and 11- foot vehicle lanes, keeping just one vehicle travel lane in each direction. Between the widening and realign- ment of curves, it is hoped road access and sight dis- tance for all traffi c will be greatly improved. The possibility of build- ing temporary access roads going around construction has been fl oated. “We’re going to do our best to minimize delays and we’re still working through those details,” Taylor said. Follow-up community meetings and targeted pub- lic outreach before each phase of construction are also planned to better as- sess impact. “Between summers we’ll be working on ac- quiring right-of-way from property owners and min- imizing and mitigating impacts, reconstructing fences, making sure every- one still has their driveway access where we have to move driveways, working on environmental permits where we need to restore wetlands and refi ning stormwater management plans,” Taylor said. Though no start dates have been decided, Taylor estimated summer work on each phase could take around fi ve months. Neighbors and commu- nity members are invited to an informational meeting to learn more about up- coming improvements on Thursday, June 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lorane Grange (80342 Old Lorane Road). After an information- al summary of the corri- dor plan, the meeting will break out with staffed ta- bles to answer questions one-on-one with attend- ees. Each table will have a set of plans and experts to answer specifi c questions about each phase of con- struction. “It’s an opportunity for everyone to get together,” said Taylor. “We really want to hear from people if they have concerns and work through those.” Septe mber 19-21 2019 AT THE LIBRARY 4U Simple Bookkeeping Accounting • Payroll Personal & Business Income Tax Summer Reading Kick-Off Party US N I O Wed. June 19 th , 2-4pm J FOR... Summer Preschool Storytime Wednesdays at 10:30am Friday “Drop-In” Preschool Play Date Fridays at 10:30am for informal family fun Ukulele Club Thursdays Adults: 9am Kids: 10am Family Fun Picnic Friday June 21 st , stop by the Library to sign up 1623 S. 6th Street, Cottage Grove 541-206-4703 Lic# B15742 43rd Annual Quilt Show “Th e Unbroken Th read” QUILT ENTRY & WORKSHOP REGISTRATION Forms and guidelines are available online at www.pioneerquiltersquiltshow.blogspot.com Entry: June 1-July 31 Deadline: Aug. 1, 2019 Held at the Cottage Grove Armory 628 E. Washington Ave 700 E. Gibbs Ave, Cottage Grove STIHL CHAIN SAW $179.95 Proud Sponsor for the Kids Reading Stock# MS 170 Program Free Extra Chain and Horner's Baseball Cap with purchase. 25% TO 45% OFF APPLIANCES 8 x 8 x 6 Treated $9.99 LANDSCAPE AND BUILDING MATERIALS UP TO 25% OFF POWER LAWN & GARDEN BOGO 50% OFF Pre-Mixed Fuel (07133501/36521/10582) PRICES VALID THRU JUNE 19TH thru July 6th, 2019 Open 7 days a week! 79149 N. River Road 541-942-4664 Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00am-6:00pm | Sat 9am-6pm | Sun 11am-4pm 118 Gateway Blvd., Cottage Grove (Next to Bi-Mart) • 541-942-7377 23 rd Annual Cottage Grove Chili Cook-Off July 27, 2019 Be a Part of the Mighty KNND Rock Roll & Rumble Car Show-Cruise-In-Chili Cook-off Th is Event is Now a “Kiwanis of the Coast Fork” Fundraiser to Support our Charitable Work Within Your Community CASH PRIZES TO WINNERS 10x10 & 10x20 Booth Spaces $20/$30.00 Vendor and Cooking Spaces available starting July 1 st Rules and Sign-up sheets available at KNND Radio, Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce or Cottage Grove Sentinel Contact Don Gould July 1 st -22 nd for Information and to Reserve Your Spot! Sign up early and get your Choice Spot Reserved Space reservations allotted on a First come, First served basis 541-942-5920 TIMBER RANCH AUCTION Stunning 161 acre Myrtle Creek ranch w/2 homes, 2 guest units, barn and other outbuildings. Year round creek, springs, water rights, pasture, orchards & 1700 MBF timber. Sealed bids due by June 28, 2019 at 5 p.m. Joe Ward Properties Joe Ward, Principal Broker PO Box 642 Cottage Grove, Or 97424 541-912-0934 (Cell Phone) TWO HOMES, TIMBER, 100 ACRES: Stunning end of road retreat between CG and Creswell. 100 acres includes open pasture and merchantable and reprod timber. Home was remodeled and substantial addition placed in 2003, 3656 sq. ft. 3 bd, 3bath, hickory fl oors, tile, fi replace w/insert, plus new kitchen with granite, oak, and induc- tion range. Detached 2-car garage, two barns, shed, plus immaculate 2nd dwelling (2788 sq. ft. MH). $874,000.
