With no long-term fix in sight for the crumbling Highway 6, county leaders declared an emergency Tuesday morning, asking the state to address the issues plaguing the Wilson River Highway.
Highway 6 has closed again after a new crack formed in the only lane still in operation near milepost 35. The highway is expected to be closed most of Sunday.
The Wilson River Highway is closed between mileposts 27 and 42 after a landslide and sunken grade made the roadway impassable. No reopening estimate has been made yet.
The Oregon Senate on Monday in a 18-11 vote passed a long-awaited transportation bill that would update the state’s funding sources for road maintenance and operations by increasing taxes on gas, titling and registering vehicles, payroll, and more.
Gov. Tina Kotek will order lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session at the end of August to address a $350 million funding shortfall in the Department of Transportation’s budget that led to hundreds of state employees receiving layoff notices this month.
The lists of proposed layoffs and elimination of unfilled vacancies at the Oregon Department of Transportation show that the impact of the cuts will hit all across the state, as will the closure of a dozen maintenance stations. See the list for yourself.
