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
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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
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fl oors, tile, fi replace w/insert, plus new
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