The planned detour for the B Street Naylor Creek bridge replacement project beginning July 6. Photo: Washington Co. LUT
FOREST GROVE - Gales Creek area commuters may be impacted by a planned closure of B Street between Stringtown Road and the Gales Creek bridge near Forest Grove beginning Monday, July 6. Washington County Land Use and Transportation will begin replacement of a timber bridge over Naylor Creek located between the Gales Creek bridge and Stringtown Road on July 6. The project is scheduled to be completed on September 30. According to county bridge data, the 129 foot bridge spanning Naylor Creek was built in 1953. The bridge is located just outside of Forest Grove city limits. A detour has been established from Tualatin Valley Highway (Highway 47), Elm Street, Pacific Avenue and 19th Street.
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The project, estimated to cost about $2 million, is funded through the countys Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program.The new bridge will be a multispan concrete bridge, will be wider, have upgraded safety rails, and will have a shoulder, according to the project website.
Gales Creek Road will close near Thornburg Road starting Aug. 27 as county contractors begin work replacing one of two culverts carrying White Creek, a Gales Creek tributary.
Washington County will close part of Old Highway 47 between Etters Road and Maple Lane in the Seghers community starting Aug. 8 until approximately Sept. 5, officials say. Travelers headed to Hagg Lake and other local attractions are advised to follow a posted detour sign.
"Its important for travelers to understand that�Timber�Road�will remain closed during construction," LUT Public Information Officer Chris Lueneburg said in an email to this newspaper. "Workers will be on site and we will be excavating the slope. Were hoping to reopen the�road�by the end of the yea
A project to replace a small bridge on Stringtown Road, which will require an extended road closure, has been delayed again. Once the project is underway, a popular rural route will be closed for construction, possibly for several months this summer if the the quadruply-delayed project finally happe
A proposed toll road linking Forest Grove and Tillamook faced opposition, but Gales Creek residents would take any road they could get, according to a 1925 newspaper article.
"County Jail Filled to Overflow With Arrests Made" including Ernest Narver, Frank Kearns, Thomas Young, and Roy Kearns, all arrested at Balm Grove on liquor possession charges in Prohibition-era Gales Creek.
People are shooting exploding targets and firing hot lead into dry vegetation in the Tillamook Forest with predictable results: Five wildfires since May. These fires are all preventable, said Acting Forest Grove District Forester Stephanie Beall.
