“Car-mageddon” is Coming. County Road Work to Bring Major Disruptions
By George Sowder
For those of you who may not know (and I imagine many of you do know): major construction is imminently scheduled for Newberry Road to repair the slide/roadbed failure that has closed the road since last winter, and after its completion, Cornelius Pass Road is scheduled for safety improvements this summer and early fall.
The current schedule indicates that the Newberry Road project is supposed to be completed by the end of March, 2019. According to Mike Pullen with Multnomah Co., the design is complete, and the right of way (property) for construction has been acquired. The contractor has been selected, and site work will begin in January and be completed in spring, 2019.
Once Newberry Road is re-opened, safety improvements on Cornelius Pass Road will occur in two stages. The first stage will occur between Kaiser Road and the Skyline Blvd. intersection at Plainview Grocery. This first stage of the Cornelius Pass project will encompass shoulder-widening approaching Kaiser Road from the south, and will include better signage and sight-line improvements. I assume this is to make it easier and safer for vehicles traveling north to turn east onto Kaiser Road, and also to provide improved conditions (maybe) for Kaiser Road vehicles turning south or north onto Cornelius Pass Road. There may also be improvement to the left-hand curve at the end of the uphill going north on Cornelius Pass Road.
The contractor for Cornelius Pass Road will begin setting up construction signage in May. Exactly when Cornelius Pass Road will be closed in the Kaiser Road section is uncertain at this time. While these changes are being completed, traffic will be diverted onto Old Cornelius Pass Road. Traffic going north on Cornelius Pass Road will be diverted to Old Cornelius Pass Road at the intersection with Germantown Road. Trucks will not be allowed on Old Cornelius Pass Road as it is very difficult, if not impossible, for them to negotiate the hairpin turn over the creek.
After this phase of the Cornelius Pass Safety Improvements is completed, work on the northerly section of Cornelius Pass Road from Skyline to Hwy. 30 will commence. These changes are much more significant and will require more construction time (I believe). This segment north of Skyline is currently scheduled to begin in mid-May, 2019, and continue to the end of September.
The Skyline Blvd. to Hwy. 30 projects encompass reconstruction of the downhill (if you are traveling north) S-curve past Plainview Market such that it improves the camber linking the two curves. This hopefully will result in less tractor-trailer mishaps as they overturn. The S-curve curve that you encounter at the intersection of 8th avenue and Cornelius Pass Road is to be reconstructed to be less severe. This will include the replacement of a culvert for a stream under the road which can only be accomplished at certain times of the year(mid-July through the end of September).Other improvements will also be constructed, such as vehicle pull-outs (presumably on the section of Cornelius Pass Road north of Skyline Blvd), improved barriers and guardrails, and shoulder-widening.
During construction of the northern section, Cornelius Pass Road will be closed at the intersection with Skyline Blvd. Vehicles heading east (if they are planning on going south on Hwy. 30)will be diverted to Newberry Road. There will be a temporary signal installed at the intersection of Hwy. 30 and Newberry Road for the duration of the project. Drivers intending to travel north on Hwy. 30 will be able to turn west onto Skyline Blvd. This traffic will, I presume, have a choice of using either Logie Trail or Rocky Point Road to reach Hwy. 30. Of course, you can take Newberry Road to Hwy. 30, and turn north as well.
Cornelius Pass Road will be closed to large trucks during construction. Details provided by the county indicate that trucks longer than 40 feet will not be permitted on the side road[GS2] detours, such as Old Cornelius Pass Road or Newberry Road. Trucks longer than 40 feet are also banned on other side roads across the West Hills, such as Logie Trail Road. Long trucks will be detoured to Hwy. 26 via Hwy. 30 and I-405, or vice versa. Trucks with hazardous loads will detour to I-405 to I-5 to Hwy. 217 to Hwy. 26.
In 2016 (most recent data available),Multnomah Co. estimated that on average, more than 13,000 vehicles per day crossed Cornelius Pass Road between Skyline and Sheltered Nook. Approximately 13% of those were trucks.
During both construction phases, local access will be assured at all times for residents and necessary services. However, make no mistake, it will be interesting!
ODOT and Multnomah Co. have posted more information about the Cornelius Pass Rd. project on the following websites:
https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/Mobility%20Document%20Retention/11-20-18/KN18147_Mobility_Presentation_112018.pdf
https://multco.us/roads/webform/cornelius-pass-road-safety-improvements
There is also supposed to be a ”pre-construction” public meeting in spring 2019. Pay attention!
(RR 01/19)
For those of you who may not know (and I imagine many of you do know): major construction is imminently scheduled for Newberry Road to repair the slide/roadbed failure that has closed the road since last winter, and after its completion, Cornelius Pass Road is scheduled for safety improvements this summer and early fall.
The current schedule indicates that the Newberry Road project is supposed to be completed by the end of March, 2019. According to Mike Pullen with Multnomah Co., the design is complete, and the right of way (property) for construction has been acquired. The contractor has been selected, and site work will begin in January and be completed in spring, 2019.
Once Newberry Road is re-opened, safety improvements on Cornelius Pass Road will occur in two stages. The first stage will occur between Kaiser Road and the Skyline Blvd. intersection at Plainview Grocery. This first stage of the Cornelius Pass project will encompass shoulder-widening approaching Kaiser Road from the south, and will include better signage and sight-line improvements. I assume this is to make it easier and safer for vehicles traveling north to turn east onto Kaiser Road, and also to provide improved conditions (maybe) for Kaiser Road vehicles turning south or north onto Cornelius Pass Road. There may also be improvement to the left-hand curve at the end of the uphill going north on Cornelius Pass Road.
The contractor for Cornelius Pass Road will begin setting up construction signage in May. Exactly when Cornelius Pass Road will be closed in the Kaiser Road section is uncertain at this time. While these changes are being completed, traffic will be diverted onto Old Cornelius Pass Road. Traffic going north on Cornelius Pass Road will be diverted to Old Cornelius Pass Road at the intersection with Germantown Road. Trucks will not be allowed on Old Cornelius Pass Road as it is very difficult, if not impossible, for them to negotiate the hairpin turn over the creek.
After this phase of the Cornelius Pass Safety Improvements is completed, work on the northerly section of Cornelius Pass Road from Skyline to Hwy. 30 will commence. These changes are much more significant and will require more construction time (I believe). This segment north of Skyline is currently scheduled to begin in mid-May, 2019, and continue to the end of September.
The Skyline Blvd. to Hwy. 30 projects encompass reconstruction of the downhill (if you are traveling north) S-curve past Plainview Market such that it improves the camber linking the two curves. This hopefully will result in less tractor-trailer mishaps as they overturn. The S-curve curve that you encounter at the intersection of 8th avenue and Cornelius Pass Road is to be reconstructed to be less severe. This will include the replacement of a culvert for a stream under the road which can only be accomplished at certain times of the year(mid-July through the end of September).Other improvements will also be constructed, such as vehicle pull-outs (presumably on the section of Cornelius Pass Road north of Skyline Blvd), improved barriers and guardrails, and shoulder-widening.
During construction of the northern section, Cornelius Pass Road will be closed at the intersection with Skyline Blvd. Vehicles heading east (if they are planning on going south on Hwy. 30)will be diverted to Newberry Road. There will be a temporary signal installed at the intersection of Hwy. 30 and Newberry Road for the duration of the project. Drivers intending to travel north on Hwy. 30 will be able to turn west onto Skyline Blvd. This traffic will, I presume, have a choice of using either Logie Trail or Rocky Point Road to reach Hwy. 30. Of course, you can take Newberry Road to Hwy. 30, and turn north as well.
Cornelius Pass Road will be closed to large trucks during construction. Details provided by the county indicate that trucks longer than 40 feet will not be permitted on the side road[GS2] detours, such as Old Cornelius Pass Road or Newberry Road. Trucks longer than 40 feet are also banned on other side roads across the West Hills, such as Logie Trail Road. Long trucks will be detoured to Hwy. 26 via Hwy. 30 and I-405, or vice versa. Trucks with hazardous loads will detour to I-405 to I-5 to Hwy. 217 to Hwy. 26.
In 2016 (most recent data available),Multnomah Co. estimated that on average, more than 13,000 vehicles per day crossed Cornelius Pass Road between Skyline and Sheltered Nook. Approximately 13% of those were trucks.
During both construction phases, local access will be assured at all times for residents and necessary services. However, make no mistake, it will be interesting!
ODOT and Multnomah Co. have posted more information about the Cornelius Pass Rd. project on the following websites:
https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/Mobility%20Document%20Retention/11-20-18/KN18147_Mobility_Presentation_112018.pdf
https://multco.us/roads/webform/cornelius-pass-road-safety-improvements
There is also supposed to be a ”pre-construction” public meeting in spring 2019. Pay attention!
(RR 01/19)