Road Maintenance
County Road Maintenance
There is a common misunderstanding about the difference between “County Maintained Roads”, “Local Access Roads”, and private roads that developers and others construct. The following may help to clarify the difference and answer some frequently asked questions.
County Roads are those roads designated as a “County Road” by the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners that gives the Public Works Department the responsibility for maintenance. Unless the Board of Commissioners specifically designates the road as a County Road, the road is classed as a “Local Access Road” or just a “Road” by definition in the Oregon Revised Statues. As developers construct new roads in subdivisions or partitions, the plat typically dedicates the right of way as a public road and the County accepts these roads for use by the public. Most often, these roads are not designated as a County Road, and therefore, they remain classified as a Local Access Road.
ORS 368.031 specifically states that the County can only spend money on these types of roads if specific conditions are met. The Public Works Department, by law, cannot spend funds on these roads in the same manner as for County Roads. (ORS 368.705) Because the current County Roads are in such poor condition due to insufficient funding for improvements, the County has not accepted more roads into the system for some time.
Even though the County has accepted the construction of a public road in a subdivision, the Public Works Department has no responsibility for maintenance of the road unless the Board of Commissioners specifically designates the road as a County Road. If this specific terminology is not used in the acceptance by the County, the road remains classified as a Local Access Road and will not be maintained by the Public Works Department.Local Access Roads
A local access road, or LAR, is a road that the public has the right to use and is under County jurisdiction but is not maintained by Columbia County or any other government agency. Many roads within rural subdivisions in Columbia County are LARs. Prior to the creation of land use laws in the 1970s, developers of land were free to build whatever type of road they wanted. In many cases, roads were roughed in with a bulldozer and minimally surfaced with a thin layer of gravel – some were paved or hard-surfaced, though the paving standard used was subject to the developer. These roads were dedicated for public use through subdivision platting, but since they were not built to County standards, they were not accepted by Columbia County as County-maintained facilities. The developers were aware of the fact that if their subdivision roads were not built to County standards, maintenance of these roads would be the responsibility of the landowners along the LARs.
In some cases, developers went to the extra expense of building and paving the subdivision roads to County Road standards and, after inspection and approval by the County, the roads were designated as County-maintained roads.
There are many miles of LARs in Columbia County.
Due to the fiscal burden that would be placed on county road departments to maintain significant mileage of sub-standard road construction, state law restricts the ability of counties to spend road funds (fuel tax and DMV fee revenue) on LARs. State law also restricts the ability of counties to spend property taxes on road maintenance; Columbia County does not use property tax revenue to improve or maintain county roads.How are Local Access Roads Maintained?
LARs are typically maintained by adjacent property owners and road users by obtaining a permit to work in the right of way, then commencing work through one of three ways:
- Informally: In which neighbors work together to hire a contractor or self-perform maintenance and work out an arrangement to share in the cost.
- Formally: Through homeowners’ associations (HOAs) or other formal agreements to share in the cost of maintenance.
- Special Road Districts: In which area residents vote to establish a district that levies a property tax to fund maintenance.
Work Request Submission
Report potholes, grading issues, loose gravel, vegetation that needs to be cut, tree limbs in need of cut-backs, sinkholes, downed trees, or anything road-related.
Submit a work request and our staff will check it out.
Roadside Vegetation Management
The purpose of the Vegetation Management Program is to maintain the roadside vegetation along Columbia County's roads in a safe, effective and economical manner. Goals include ensuring the safety of the traveling public, and minimizing adverse affects to property owners. The objective is to manage the grass, weeds, brush and trees within the right-of-way, through the use of mechanical equipment, herbicides, and manual labor. Columbia County only uses "over the counter" herbicides that are approved by the state and federal government for use along the roads, and all applicators are licensed and certified by the State of Oregon. The herbicides are applied (weather permitting) in the spring and fall of each year. The spray dates and locations listed below are provided as a courtesy but are subject to change due to weather and staffing. The spray dates and locations are also available by calling (503) 366-3959 (Columbia County Public Works herbicide application hotline number).
| Spray Date | Spray Area |
|---|---|
| April 24th | Apiary Road, Fern Hill area |
| April 25th | Pittsburg, Trenholm, Yankton areas |
Property owners may enter into a bi-annual No Spray Agreement with the County. By entering into a No Spray Agreement the property owner is responsible for maintaining the roadside from the edge of the pavement back to the edge of the right-of-way, or 10' whichever is closer. The County will provide No Spray signs to be posted by the property owner at both ends of the property, easily visible for the road crews to see. Home made signs may not be honored. If the property owner fails to maintain their frontage within the right-of-way, the Columbia County Public Works Department may maintain the right-of-way by the most cost-effective means, which may include the application of chemicals.
Below is a list of commonly used herbicides, surfactants, drift control agents and soil retention agents along with their corresponding safety data sheets. To obtain application dates, spray reports or more specific information regarding the roadside vegetation management program, submit a public records request.