Meeting discusses potential improvements in various Lincoln City spots



Lincoln City Council and community members heard a special presentation from Oregon Department of Transportation representatives on Monday about the need to establish a facility plan for proposed improvements to Highway 101 from 12th Street to High School Drive.

The improvements to that section of the highway include expanding it to five lanes and creating raised medians for safety. Improvements also include creating sidewalks, bike lanes and turn lanes.

A facility plan outlines the modernization improvements for the project over the next 20 years. It is needed to continue moving forward with the project, and to allow the project to be built in phases.

“The reason we’re doing a facility plan is that we do not have all of the funds to build this project,” said ODOT project leader Amy Ramsdell.

The total estimated cost is around $27 million, and ODOT currently has about $9.9 million earmarked for the project. The Federal Highway Administration requires ODOT to have a plan for the 20-year need requirements of the highway, Ramsdell said.

In order for Lincoln City to adopt the facility plan, the city staff, the planning commission and the city council will need to review it and hold public hearings.

“This is the big piece that people keep asking us, ‘When are we going to get to construction.’ We can’t start designing that until we have a facility plan in place,” Ramsdell said.

ODOT is seeking additional funds for the project through grants and funds from the State Transportation Improvement Program. ODOT applied for $15 million in federally earmarked funds for construction and are awaiting notification.

Several business owners at the meeting expressed concern over the map used during the meeting because the proposed project survey lines were slightly misaligned on some sections of the map. Ramsdell said they used Google maps so they could show all the street connections on the maps at the meeting. Ramsdell and ODOT Area 4 Manager Vivian Payne are making modifications to adjust the map for clarification.

An open house to receive general public input is planned in spring 2010, prior to the city’s adoption process. Numerous property owners have already been contacted and met with ODOT representatives about the project.

The earliest date construction would start is summer of 2012.

For more information about the project, see www.ODOTproject.info, and to receive monthly project updates, contact Joanna Ridgway at Joanna.d.ridgway@odot.state.or.us, or call 503-986-5845.



Monique Cohen is a reporter with the News-Times. Contact her at 265-8571 ext. 217 or mcohen@newportnewstimes.com.



Share on Facebook