NEWS HOME

Road News

• US 26/Cedar Hills celebration
• Jenkins Road widening
• Cornelius Pass Road closure

Celebrate the US 26/Cedar Hills light with free coffee

Thursday, May 9, 7-9 am, Peterkort Towne Square at Cedar Hills Boulevard and Barnes Road.

In celebration of the new signal at the eastbound U.S. 26 off-ramp at Cedar Hills Boulevard, travelers can pick up free coffee, provided by J Peterkort and Co.

Representatives from Washington County Department of Land Use & Transportation (LUT), Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), city of Beaverton and private developer J. Peterkort and Company, will be onsite to discuss the project. LUT staff will deliver coffee to drivers who don't have time to park and chat.

"We know many travelers are as excited about this project as we are," said Andrew Singelakis, director, LUT. "We want to celebrate by doing something unique. Many thanks to J. Peterkort and Company for donating the coffee and space for this fun event."

The long-awaited traffic signal at the U.S. 26 eastbound exit ramp and Cedar Hills Boulevard will be turned on soon. Area travelers will be able to make a left turn onto Cedar Hills from the US 26 eastbound off-ramp without excessively long delays. In addition to the traffic signal, the project includes a sidewalk along the east side of Cedar Hills Boulevard, underneath the US 26 overpass.

In preparation for the upcoming event, LUT created a Spotify playlist - Turning Left - to get everyone into the left-turn spirit. Follow Turning Left on Spotify. Travelers with suggestions for additional songs for Turning Left can follow #US26CedarHills #LeftTurn on Twitter @WashCoRoads

Jenkins Road to be widened between Murray & 158th

Jenkins Road is a heavily used east/west arterial roadway that carries close to 24,000 vehicles a day. The current two/three lane road is not adequate for existing traffic and projected traffic growth in the area. This section of roadway also lacks continuous sidewalks along the south side of the road.

Click on the map to see a larger version.

This project will widen Jenkins Road between 158th and Murray to five lanes (two travel lanes in each direction with a center turn lane) and will include continuous bike and pedestrian facilities on both sides of the road. A dedicated right turn lane will be added on Jenkins Road westbound to 158th Avenue northbound. A new bridge is also being proposed at Cedar Mill Creek, just west of 153rd Avenue.

We asked if there would be a right turn lane from Murray southbound onto Jenkins, but Project Manager Matt Costigan said, “The right turn lane was looked at as part of the project’s traffic analysis but was determined it was not warranted.”

The $13 million project cost is funded through the Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program (MSTIP 3d). “Some of that money comes from the Transportation Development Tax (TDT) assessments, that are based on the development’s estimated traffic impact on the road system, as defined in the TDT ordinance,” LUT Director Andrew Singelakis noted, in our May 2016 article. “Based on the buildings approved in Nike's 2014 land use approval, Nike’s TDT obligation was $10.1 million. Per an agreement between Nike and the County, Nike prepaid its TDT assessment for their expansion, and those funds will be applied to the Nike-area road projects.”

Construction is expected to begin in late May 2019. Estimated completion date: December 31, 2020. An Open House to “Meet the Contractor was held on May 2.

For more information, visit the project webpage or contact Washington County Department of Land Use & Transportation at lutproj@co.washington.or.us or 503-846-7800.

Cornelius Pass Road to be closed for improvements, July 8-October 7

This five-mile stretch of NW Cornelius Pass Road has seen a high rate of crashes in recent years, including fatal crashes and truck spills. Increased traffic, high speeds and the rugged terrain all play a part in the high number of crashes.

This project will include safety improvements including curve realignment, shoulder widening and rehabilitation, signage and sight distance improvements, vehicle pullouts, and guardrail upgrades.

Multnomah County spokesman Mike Pullen will visit CPO 1 on May 14 to talk about the project and take questions on this and other MC road projects. (See CPO 1 News, this issue)

Construction is planned to start July 8, after NW Newberry Road has been repaired and reopened to serve as a detour for cars and pickup trucks during work on NW Cornelius Pass Road. Work is scheduled to be complete by October 7, 2019 (13 weeks total).

The road will be closed to all through traffic between Highway 30 and NW Germantown Road, from July 8-October 7, 2019. Access for local and emergency traffic and deliveries will be permitted up to the hard road closure at 8th Ave. between NW Skyline Blvd. and Highway 30. The road will be completelly closed at 8th Ave. where the road will be excavated to replace a culvert.

You can learn more and sign up on the Multnomah County project web page for updates.

The transportation funding bill passed by the 2017 Oregon Legislature and signed by Governor Brown included legislation that will transfer jurisdiction of the sections of NW Cornelius Pass Road between Highway 26 and Highway 30 from Multnomah and Washington counties to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). The legislation did not establish a timeline for the transfer.

Since Governor Brown signed the legislation in 2017, staff from Multnomah County met several times with ODOT officials to review issues involved in the transfer. ODOT staff have asked Multnomah County to complete its planned safety improvements before the transfer is complete. An initial review of jurisdictional transfer issues indicates that Cornelius Pass Road will not be transferred to ODOT before the end of 2019.

Previous article

NEWS HOME