The curb ramps at Elm Street and 14th Avenue, seen July 21, 2025, look functional but are outdated according to current standards.
Twenty-five years after rebuilding Elm Street in West Albany, the city plans to renew the pavement on this former section of Oregon Highway 99.
The city opened bids for the repaving job on July 1. Knife River, of Tangent, submitted the lowest of six bids at $1,205,427. Once the city council awards the contract, the contractor will have until July 31, 2026, to complete the work.
The city calls this project the “Elm Street Overlay: 5th Avenue to Queen Avenue” and described it this way in the bid invitation: “This project includes approximately 3,200 linear feet of 2-inch asphalt grind-inlay, replacement of approximately 68 curb ramps, replacement of approximately 600 feet of 30-inch storm drain, and related appurtenances.”
Why new curb ramps, I wondered. What’s the matter with all the ramps installed when the street was narrowed and rebuilt in 2000, when the Americans with Disabilities Act was still new?
The standards for curb ramps changed in 2013, City Engineer Staci Belcastro explained. And when a street is repaved or otherwise altered, curb ramps have to be built to meet current requirements. The standards include specifications for, among other things, the width and slope of the ramps as well as the slope of the sides.
Elm Street served as the south entrance to Albany via Highway 99 until 1939 or ’40. In 2000, the city narrowed the former highway and repaved it, along with building sidewalks, replacing trees, and installing period street lights on Elm between Fifth and Tenth avenues.
That project a quarter century ago cost $2.3 million. It was one of four street projects funded by a $9.85 million bond issue voters approved in 1998. The other three were Salem Avenue (now also getting new pavement), Santiam Road, and 34th Avenue.
While we’re diving into history:
Highway 99 was rerouted after the “Southern Pacific Overcrossing” — we now call it the Pacific Boulevard overpass — was completed in 1939. Remarkably, the overpass was started and finished in one year.
The rerouting caused complaints about inadequate signage where Elm met the highway, according to stories in the Democrat-Herald in 1940. The highway department promised to install big signs.
Whether this was done, I could not determine. But come to think of it, driving up 99E from the south, even today it’s easy to miss the left turn to get to West Albany via Elm. That hasn’t changed in 85 years. (hh)
I can’t think where there is a sign for a left turn off 99E to get to West Albany via Elm Street, traveling from the south. Elm runs into Queen right at Reid’s Veterinary where the new cameras are, and that is several blocks west of South Pacific Blvd., which is old 99E.
The Elm Street access coming from the south on Pacific: You turn left on 24th then immediately right on Elm. Twenty-fourth runs behind the West Albany field and in front of Liberty Elementary school. There is no sign for it. I believe there is a small strip of land that the city wanted to “give” to a business there (sound familiar?)
The distance from Pacific and the intersection of Elm and Queen is due to the curve in Pacific.
Thank you, Connie.
The City of Albany maintains 190 miles of paved streets.
I think “maintains” is a bit of a stretch
I can answer the question about the lack of signage. I was informed by the Mayor of Albany at that time that since that street ran through a residential area, and there was still plenty of resentment from the residents near the newly completed overpass, it would be best not to install the signs as originally proposed. (obviously not the same management style at ODOT that exists today). So that idea was dropped.
As a temporarily mobility challenged person, I can confirm that there are many, many curbs in Albany that are completely inaccessible. How about just getting more curbs added in general, rather than spending to improve existing (but functional) curbs? Some intersections have zero curbs, some have only one, many sidewalks are impeded by construction tripods, overgrown hedges and berry vines, or uprooted by tree roots. Also, the train arms came down on Old Salem so fast that I was stuck in the middle with my mobility ride, only a car length from a high speed AmTrak train!
Don’t leave us guessing, Hasso. What was the original route of Highway 99E through Albany? Elm to ____ to _____?
Working on that.
According to the book “That Ribbon of Highway III, Highway 99 Through the Pacific Northwest”, by Jill Livingston, the route through Albany is as follows: “Elm, right on 9th, left on Washington, right on 1st, right on Main, left on Salem.”
“While we’re diving into history…” Or, rather, “driving into history…” ;)