Published on August 12, 2021
Travel will be restricted to one lane during work hours starting the week of August 15th
ST. HELENS, Oregon - A slide area near MP 4.0 on Scappoose Vernonia Highway will be repaired this summer under a contract between the Columbia County Road Department and Thompson Bros. Excavating, Inc. of Vancouver. Funded by help from the Federal Highways Administration through the Oregon Department of Transportation in response to storm damage experienced in 2015, the project will replace the damaged roadway and improve drainage. Drivers should expect to drive on a one-lane gravel surface through the site as work progresses.
Construction begins on Monday, August 16th and Reader Boards will be placed approaching the site along with construction signing to alert drivers. If drivers want to avoid the area, they can use Apiary Road, but delays at the construction site should not be more than 20 minutes.
The project will involve excavating the roadway and reconstructing the side slopes. The project will also establish guard railing along the side of the road and will be topped off with new pavement through the construction site.
“Columbia County Public Works worked with the contractor to come up with a way to keep at least one lane open during work hours and then have both lanes open in the evenings and on weekends. The downside is that, to be as efficient as possible, traffic will have to run on gravel through the site,” said Mike Russell, Public Works Director.
Russell expects construction to be completed by Monday, September 6th.
For more information, contact Columbia County Public Works at 503-397-5090 or email at publicworks@columbiacountyor.gov .
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The Columbia County Road Department manages 550 miles of paved and gravel roads as well as 104 bridges. Its territory ranges from nearly sea level to 2,000 feet. In addition to road building, the department’s 21 employees also oversee signs, road striping, roadside vegetation, pothole repair, storm response, and regulation and permitting.