The Oregon Department of Transportation plans to make a decision by Nov. 15 on how to proceed with the construction of a new bridge over Trout Creek on Highway 20.
Trout Creek passes through a box culvert on Highway 20. ODOT plans to remove the culvert and replace it with a bridge.
Trout Creek is located about 21 miles east of Sweet Home. About four miles west of Mountain House.
ODOT has two options for dealing with Highway 20 traffic during that time, Project Leader Jim Westbrook said. The first option is to completely close the road for two weeks in April and build the bridge during that time. The second option is to construct a one-lane detour with a traffic signal to be used over a three-month construction period starting in July.
Westbrook met with interested members of the public and agencies Monday night seeking public input on which option would be best.
About half a dozen residents were at the meeting, including Mountain House owner Kim Powers and neighbor Betsy Gardener. Mayor Craig Fentiman, Councilman Dick Hill and City Manager Craig Martin were present along with a representative from Cascade Timber Consulting and Forest Service Sweet Home District Ranger Mike Rassbach.
Nearly everyone spoke in favor of the two-week closure rather than have construction drag on with an inconvenient detour lane through the summer.
Mayor Fentiman said he though the two-week closure was the best option. Powers and Gardener also supported the two-week closure over the detour.
If the two-week closure were selected by ODOT, the closure would go into effect on April 15, Westbrook said. Two weeks prior, while driving piles, and possibly two weeks after, the highway would have single-lane closures.
If the three-month detour lane were selected, it would still close Highway 20 to truck traffic, Westbrook said. Recreational vehicles and 28-foot delivery trucks, for example, would be allowed.
The project is funded through dollars earmarked under Gov. John Kitzhaber for salmon recovery.
Specifically, the project would allow winter steelhead to access about two miles of spawning beds on Trout Creek, Steve Mamoyac of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said. The culvert is shallow and is difficult for adult steelhead to pass.
The project will cost about $750,000 if it is done inside the two-week closure, Westbrook said. The detour lane, which includes high “throw-away” costs, would cost approximately $1.2 million.
In the two-week closure, ODOT would provide shuttle service for four households to the west side of the project, Westbrook said. He will look into the possibility of providing ODOT vehicles for the residents to drive on the west side of the closure. Gardener was concerned about leaving her vehicle unattended on Highway 20 west of the closure.
Powers asked if she would be able to receive her deliveries.
“If they couldn’t come from Bend, we would find a way to get those deliveries to you,” Westbrook said.
ODOT will have an ambulance and fire truck on the east side of the bridge during construction to respond to the four residences in emergencies, Westbrook said. Sisters Fire Department will respond to other calls from the east during the project. Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District could meet and transport patients from the closure, which will include a foot bridge.
April is the month, aside from December and January, for travel along Highway 20 at Trout Creek, with about 1,300 cars per day, counted both directions, Westbrook said.
Corky Lowen, who owns and operates Corky’s Holiday House, said Sweet Home businesses should be concerned because construction at Trout Creek will affect them. She thought more business owners should have attended the ODOT meeting Monday night.
The ODOT decision will follow a decision by the Sweet Home City Council on which option it would support at its 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 meeting.