Washington County releases draft road maintenance plan, seeks public comment

Washington County Land Use and Transportation is seeking public comment on its draft road maintenance program for the upcoming fiscal year, with bridge repairs, surface work and drainage projects planned on roads across the unincorporated portions of the county. Community members can review the plan and submit feedback through an online open house. Comments are being accepted from April 3 through May 3. Gales Creek and Banks area roads and bridges are found throughout the plan. View individual roads in an interactive PDF here. "We want our community to feel heard when it comes to their road maintenance needs," said Todd Watkins, operations division manager for Washington County Land Use & Transportation. "Their feedback helps us understand what's working, what needs attention, and where maintenance matters most." Among the larger projects in the draft plan is bridge work on Roy Road, where the county plans to replace girders in three spans and repair a bent cap and pile on the bridge between Cornelius-Schefflin Road and Mountaindale Road. On Cedar Canyon Road, two bridges are slated for work. One near the Highway 6 junction will get a replacement girder, steel pile cleaning and painting, and conduit repair, while another farther up the road will have vegetation cleared and a beaver dam removed from the channel. Two bridges on Cornelius-Schefflin Road are scheduled for tree removal, riprap placement and steel pile work. In and near Forest Grove, B Street's bridge will see pile replacements at three bents, banding and rebar patching, and two bridges on Golf Course Road are scheduled for utility conduit repair, joint sealing and corrosion protection work. Two bridges on Timber Road, two on Spring Hill Road, and bridges on Fern Hill Road, Mountaindale Road, Thatcher Road, Bacona Road, Sellers Road, Banks Road and Wilkesboro Road are also on the list for maintenance. The county also plans two major contracted culvert replacements on 331st Avenue and Schmeltzer Road, along with 16 culvert replacements by county crews. Culvert work is planned on Cedar Canyon Road, Timber Road, Sellers Road and Gales Creek Road. Countywide, the draft program includes more than 80 miles of road surface improvements, including 28 miles of gravel road stabilization, 10 miles of paving by county crews, 13 miles of chip seal, more than 11 miles of contracted paving and 18 miles of slurry seal treatments. Surface work in the area includes segments of Gales Creek Road, Bacona Road, Cedar Canyon Road, Hayward Road, Cornelius-Schefflin Road, Fern Hill Road, Golf Course Road and Verboort Road. Drainage maintenance is planned on Gales Creek Road, Fern Hill Road, Blooming-Fern Hill Road, Golf Course Road and Spring Hill Road. County crews also plan 1,700 miles of vegetation trimming and 135 miles of roadway sweeping across the system. Comments submitted through the online open house will help county staff refine maintenance priorities before the final program goes to the Board of County Commissioners for approval, the county said.