Emergency repairs at the milepost 35 sunken grade continue on Highway 6, and this month, travelers can expect more delays as the Oregon Department of Transportation begins work on replacing guardrails along the corridor.
Crews are expected to begin work in the week of Jan. 19 to set up in the areas they plan to work in, and then begin actual construction later in January.
Crews plan to update outdated guardrail, install new guardrail where it is missing, and replace curb ramps at Mills Bridge Road and Pete Street in Tillamook County, but guardrail projects are expected in an area stretching all the way through Gales Creek and Banks to the Highway 26 interchange, according to a map produced by ODOT.
Planned work areas are expected to be added to tripcheck.com, though the work could change due to weather, ODOT said.
The work was added to a webpage showing projects the state has planned for Highway 6 this year. They include the emergency sunken grade repairs at milepost 35, paving and road repairs between mileposts 4.4 and 9, safety improvements at Wilson River Loop East, upgrades and repairs to preserve the Devils Lake Fork Wilson River Bridge and the construction of the Aerts Road roundabout in Banks.
But the unstable slopes that dot the corridor remain unaddressed. With funding for the entire department uncertain after Gov. Kotek announced she is pushing for a repeal of the transportation funding package she championed last year (page 6), the fate of Highway 6 remains undecided.
Kotek's office did not return an email seeking comment on Highway 6.
A county spokesperson said ODOT was actively seeking solutions and was in frequent contact with the county. In an email to News in the Grove, Washington County spokesperson Philip Bransford said U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici's office had been in contact with the county after county commissioners declared an emergency over the state of the highway on Jan. 6. Their office was directed to the state, which may seek Federal Highway Administration assistance.
County staff has also been in communication with their counterparts at Tillamook County, he said.
A legislative fix has not been looked at by Washington County, he said.
"Washington County has not yet looked at how it can support efforts to find long-term solutions for Highway 6 with help from the Legislature. Much of our work has focused on finding a better-balanced, stabilized budget for transportation funding across the state and locally," Bransford said. "Stabilized funding for operations and maintenance, as well as routine improvements to the entire system, is key to allowing the state time to find the right long-term solution and needed funding for this vital highway."
More about the sawdust
Many of our readers have asked us about the rumor that the highway was built atop a bed of sawdust. That's true for certain parts of the highway on unstable slopes where flood and storm damage in the 1980s and 90s occurred.
What was once a common practice has led to long-term issues.
"Sawdust (sometimes called wood fiber) was used as a lightweight fill material along parts of OR 6 following storm and flood damage in the 1980s and 1990s, including after the 1996 floods," said Oregon Department of Transportation Mindy McCartt in an email to News in the Grove. "At the time, this was a standard practice used to reduce the weight placed on unstable slopes.
"To our knowledge, the sawdust was not placed in waterproof bags or sealed with a liner. Because it was not sealed, the material slowly breaks down over time. As it decomposes, it can settle, which can contribute to long-term roadway and embankment issues," she said.
"There was no specific lifespan assigned to the sawdust when it was installed, and what we are seeing now reflects how engineering practices have changed over time," she added.
