LOCAL NEWS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Umatilla plans new Umatilla River footbridge
Construction to start in the
winter of 2022-23
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Umatilla City Manager David
Stockdale said hangups with the
Federal Emergency Management
Agency delayed a $7.2 million proj-
ect to replace the footbridge the
city lost when the Umatilla River
fl ooded in 2019 and 2020.
“They’ve been great to work
with, but it’s been three steps for-
ward and two steps back all along
the way,” he said.
He said the agency has changed
representatives frequently, leading
to misunderstandings between it and
the city. Stockdale said his offi ce
has had to submit and resubmit the
same information, repeatedly. With
the approval of FEMA, Stockdale
said the city of Umatilla has a green
light, and he announced a timeline.
Work on the bridge begins in
July, with a demolition crew remov-
ing the demolished bridge from the
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Boaters on Thursday, April 14, 2022, fl oat past the remains of a footbridge
in Umatilla. The city starts work this summer on the $7.2 million project to
replace the bridge.
Umatilla River. Pieces, which now
exist either in the river or along the
bank, will be taken from the area.
“That might take a month in July
and August,” he said.
Actual construction, he added,
will start in the winter of 2022-23,
and completion will be in early fall
the following year.
FEMA will provide $4.7 mil-
lion for the project, Stockdale said,
the state of Oregon will chip in
$500,000 and the city will take out
a $1 million loan to help cover the
remaining amount.
“We did get some insurance
proceeds, but they were very low,
$100,000,” Stockdale said.
Fixing a water main that was part
of the bridge adds another $1 mil-
lion to the project, with $750,000
coming from FEMA and $250,000
from a state emergency grant
“The new bridge will be a signifi -
cant improvement over the old one,”
he said. It will be about 140 feet lon-
ger in length, as the abutments will
be set back farther on the shore-
line than the ones on the old bridge.
The new bridge also will be higher
than the old one by 8 feet and have a
“slow and steady arch,” he said.
“If the old bridge was at this ele-
vation, it would not have been dam-
aged by fl ood,” Stockdale said.
A steel-frame bridge, it will not
require a mid-river pier support.
This will remove a hazard from the
river, which troubled recreational-
ists and created a damming eff ect
during fl oods.
“We’re really excited about the
enhancements,” he said, which also
include a boat house, benches and
information boards.
Stockdale said the old bridge
was important to the community. A
hundred students a day crossed the
bridge to get to school. Other peo-
ple crossed, too, as they walked
downtown.
More improvements ahead
Stockdale said more is planned
for both sides of the bridge.
The city obtained a recreational
trails program grant from Oregon
last year and plans to construct a
new trail that will go from Power-
line Road and loop down and con-
nect to the new bridge.
“That will go in at the same time
we are building the bridge,” he said.
Also in the works, thanks to a
grant from the land and water con-
servation fund, is a playground,
pavilion and sidewalks at Nugent
Park. The trail and playground
will meet federal standards for
accessibility.
As the city recently installed a
new restroom at the park and has
made improvements to the nearby
Little League fi eld, Stockdale
boasted the area is on its way to
being something special.
Hermiston looks to take over Hermiston sewer upgrades
roads bordering EOTEC site close North First Place
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Hermiston Herald
Two Umatilla County
roads running alongside the
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center in Hermiston
soon will belong to the city
of Hermiston.
The Hermiston City
Council at its meeting
Monday, April 25, plans to
approve transferring East
Airport and South Ott roads
to the city. County and city
offi cials said the transfer is
part of Hermiston’s growth
and the fulfi llment of an
agreement.
“When EOTEC was fi rst
developed, it was devel-
oped as a partnership
between the city of Hermis-
ton and Umatilla County,”
Umatilla County Commis-
sioner Dan Dorran said.
“When the county trans-
ferred the ownership of
EOTEC to the city, the road
was part of the process. The
county was liable for pav-
ing the road.”
He said East Airport
Road has been paved and
the bike path is in. All this
work was completed in the
past month.
“The county has done
its side, and now the city
needs to take action,”
Hermiston City Manager
Byron Smith said.
The city’s part of the
deal will be claiming the
roads in the upcoming city
council meeting.
He said this develop-
ment will not change ser-
vices for anyone who lives
on the roads. Some of the
By Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
A stop sign stands at the intersection of East Airport and
South Ott roads, Hermiston. Umatilla County owns the roads,
which run along the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center,
but the Hermiston City Council at its meeting Monday, April
25, 2022, looks to transfer the roads to the city.
homes on the road are
county, others are city, and
none of this will change.
“Nobody’s
getting
annexed or anything like
that,” he said.
The transfer is related
to the agreement between
Hermiston and Umatilla
County to develop the
event center, Smith said,
but this also “is kind of a
separate issue.”
The county and the city
have discussions often about
county roads, he explained.
As the city expands, it needs
to turn county roads into
city streets. He said this is
regular business for a grow-
ing city.
The
county
trans-
ferred EOTEC to the city
in 2008, Smith said, and
he thinks things are going
“pretty well” with it. The
next council meeting also
will include an update on
EOTEC.
“Right now, what we’re
seeing is things are getting
better after COVID. People
are starting to book events,
and it’s looking good,” he
said.
Mark Morgan, assistant
city manager, said for most
people this sort of transfer
seems insignifi cant, but it
does make a diff erence.
“Whoever is legally
responsible for that road,
that’s where the ultimate
long-term maintenance is
assigned,” he said.
When the streets need
work, the city will have to
pay for it from money it
receives from state gas tax
revenue, he said.
The fi rst of three major
capital improvement proj-
ects in Hermiston to upgrade
underground utilities, road
surface and overall access on
North First Place began the
week of Monday, April 18.
Mark Morgan, Hermis-
ton assistant city manager, in
a press release reported the
road would be closed near
the intersection of North First
Place and Ridgeway Avenue
beginning this week as utility
crews bore under the street
and nearby railroad line to
tie a gravity sewer line into
the existing main. The work
and road closure is expected
to continue as late as May 31.
The
city’s
Capital
Improvement Plan initially
called for replacement of
the 41-year-old mechan-
ical pump at lift station
No. 3 but after further study,
the city opted to replace it
with a gravity sewer main.
“After looking at the
costs and benefi ts of a new
pump versus a gravity main,
we found that it not only
saves upfront costs but will
also require less in ongo-
ing maintenance to install
the main,” Morgan said in
the press release. “We had
initially expected to spend
about $900,000 to replace
the pump and motor system,
but by tying into the exist-
ing lines we’ll get the same
benefi ts for an estimated
$561,924.”
The city reported it slated
two other projects to break
ground in the next year on
North First Place that will
improve the infrastructure
and signifi cantly impact traf-
fi c in the area until late 2023.
The fi rst is a water line
replacement to completely
overhaul the 100-year-old
water main running the
length of North First Place
from Hermiston Avenue
to Elm Avenue. The city
expects the work to begin
in the summer and continue
into late fall, requiring signif-
icant closures throughout.
The next is a $4.5 million
road reconstruction project
funded by state transportation
dollars approved in 2017. This
project will rebuild the exist-
ing road and install curbs, gut-
ters and pedestrian access to
make the road a better north/
south artery west of the rail-
road tracks. The city expects
that work to begin in early
2023 and conclude in the fall.
Hermiston’s
Capital
Improvement Plan projects,
timelines, cost estimates, and
updates is online at www.
hermistonprojects.com.
BUY 3 TIRES,
GET THE 4 TH
$
FOR 1
Specials: April 17-22
Broad-based support for the immune system
IMMUNO-SHIELD ALL
SEASON WELLNESS
by Irwin Naturals
Feel Great, Live it Up!
541-567-0272
2150 N. First St., Hermiston
20 %
0
IT helps nourish the body
to
F
F
strengthen resistance and maintain
wellness, no matter the time of year. Vitamins & Minerals:
This formula contains essential nutrients such as Vitamin
C and Zinc to help boost natural immunity. Multi-Herbs:
This formula supplies a robust blend of botanicals that
are traditionally used in immune formulas - including
Echinacea, Olive leaf, Astragalus and Oregano oil.
Antioxidants: This formula includes Vitamin C, Vitamin E
and Bioflavonoids which exert antioxidant activity to help
protect the body from cell-damaging free radicals.
$ 1
0
F
F
INCREDIBLE HULK
SMOOTHIE
$7.95 DELI
SPECIAL
Happy Heifer w/12 oz soup
CALL AHEAD AND USE OUR DRIVE THRU!
• CHECK OUT OUR LARGE SELECTION OF GIFTS AND WATCH FOR OUR IN-STORE SPECIALS •
2022
I
Northeast Oregon
PHOTO
CONTEST
TOYOTA.COM
See Your Local
Toyota Dealer
*
Restrictions apply. See participating Toyota dealer for details. Offer valid on select brands. OEM, OEA and WIN replace-
ment tires only. Tires must be dealer-installed. Three tires at regular price, fourth tire for one dollar. Fourth tire must be
of equal or lesser value. Excludes mounting and balancing, sales tax, shop supplies, tire disposal, and other applicable
taxes. Excludes previous purchases. Toyota & Scion vehicles only. Offer only available at participating Toyota dealers
4/1/2022-5/2/2022. *ToyotaCare covers normal factory scheduled maintenance for two years or 25,000 miles, whichever
comes first. Certain models require a different maintenance schedule as described in their Maintenance Guide. 24-hour
Roadside Assistance is also included for two years, unlimited mileage. Roadside Assistance does not include parts and
Visit hermistonherald.com and enter today!
fluids, except emergency fuel delivery. See Toyota dealer for details and exclusions. Valid only in the continental U.S.