 |
Appropriations bill has $500K earmarked for bypass
School board
attempts to rein Corder with directives
Hatfield will
share his take on history in class
| The
bypass motors on |
Developments in the project, including money from the state
and federal governments, give advocates reason to hope |
By Gary Allen, Newberg Graphic news
editor
E-mail Gary at gallen@eaglenewspapers.com
|
 The effort to construct a
Newberg-Dundee bypass continues to forge forward, as was demonstrated by several
developments and a recent presentation by one of its staunchest advocates, Leslie Lewis.
The Yamhill County commissioner spoke before a sparse Newberg Area Chamber of
Commerce forum Monday. The topic for the day was the bypass, as well as the city of
Newberg’s transportation system plan.
“This is an exciting time for the bypass,” Lewis said before she
took the audience through a brief history of the project. She explained that the effort
really began gathering steam in 1996 when an alternatives analysis by the Oregon
Department of Transportation was commissioned. That list of alternatives eventually was
honed to three routes: a regional bypass through northern Marion County, a route through
southern Newberg and a transportation management alternative that called for no bypass but
increasing capacity on Highway 99W.
Fast forward to earlier this year and the alternatives were narrowed to just
one — the southern route through Newberg, but not before a location environmental
impact statement (LEIS) was begun in December 2000. Formation of the LEIS kicked off a
public discussion that included 45 meetings to whittle the list down to the eight or nine
alternatives in January.
The Project Oversight Team (POST) — a group of city, county and state
officials — examined the data, the federal and state environmental restrictions and
other information, and chose Route 3J earlier this year. The route dives off of 99W near
the base of Rex Hill and crosses behind Fred Meyer before paralleling the Willamette River
through southern Newberg and Dundee. Eleven miles later it joins the McDougal junction of
highways 99W and 18.
Lewis’ comments Monday come on the heels of two recent developments in
the bypass’ funding. On Monday, Rep. David Wu was successful in securing an
additional $500,000 in federal funding for the project (see adjoining story). In addition,
ODOT announced in November that it had earmarked $2 million for the bypass in its
Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) for 2004-2007.
Lewis said the STIP and the money from the appropriations bill joins $775,000
in federal bypass money set aside last year. However, during her talk Monday she estimated
the cost of the bypass at more than $200 million, including $40 million to $50 million for
right-of-way purchase of approximately 100 residences and 20 to 30 businesses.
Still, Lewis remains optimistic. “Overall, I’m feeling pretty
good,” she said. “We’re on people’s radar screens that we really need
to be on.”
Lewis related the story of Wu and the Port of Portland. Early in his term he
committed to a dredging project on the Columbia River, a controversial plan that has
raised the ire of environmentalists and fishermen alike. Wu requested a map of the river
to hang on his Washington, D.C., office wall as a reminder of his commitment. Earlier this
year he requested a map of Highway 99W through Yamhill County.
“I’m going to point to that map,” Lewis remembers Wu saying,
“and say, ‘I committed to that bypass.”
Lewis said Wu and the other federal representatives from the area, namely
Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden, also approached Congress last year in an attempt to
secure more than $77 million in federal transportation dollars for the bypass. Congress,
however, has tabled that particular discussion and no decision has been made.
The goal of building a bypass will likely have to be broken down into
“bite sized chunks,” through phasing the project, Lewis said. The scheme that
ODOT is leaning toward would be to first construct the western end of the bypass, from
Dundee to McDougal’s Corner, then attack the remainder in two or more sections.
She explained that construction of the western section would provide the
“biggest bang for the buck” in that it would provide immediate relief to the
congestion in Dundee.
“We are really determined to build the first phase of this
project,” Lewis said.
A timeline for the future of the project, she added, would involve
completion, or “record of decision,” of the LEIS, allowing the design phase of
the project to begin. Design would likely take about two years, she said, and right-of-way
purchase would begin sometime in 2006 and last two years. If funding is secured
construction could begin in 2008 or 2009, Lewis speculated. |
|
From Dec. 10,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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