Turns out that contrary to what it says on Benton County’s project website, we can keep calling the proposed Albany-Corvallis Bikeway by that name or something like it.
This week ODOT plans to start construction of safety improvements along the Albany-Corvallis Highway, and when I looked at the plans, I was surprised to learn that despite appearances to the contrary, the long-delayed Albany-Corvallis bikeway is not completely dead.
It’s hard to say whether the long-planned but never built Albany-Corvallis Bikeway in Benton County is still a possibility, especially now that the Albany portion has to be reconsidered.
This is supposed to be the year ODOT builds the Albany segment of the long-proposed Albany-Corvallis bikeway. But the project has hit another snag: It requires the trail to cross under a railroad trestle, and the railroad has said no.
About two dozen property owners showed up Tuesday for a neighborhood meeting about the North Albany segment of the planned Albany-Corvallis Bikeway. Some of them voiced questions and concerns, but the main news for me was that the project was still on and the Albany segment is scheduled to be built in 2020.
A planning committee in Benton County has been looking for the best feasible route for a potential bikeway between Albany and Corvallis. A couple of weeks ago it picked three alternatives for closer attention. But two of the three look impractical, at least to me.
Albany-Corvallis bikeway: The wait continues
It has been 18 years since Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell started talking about a bikeway linking Albany and Corvallis. Now, two isolated segments are actually being built, but where and when they’ll connect is anybody’s guess.
Tags: Albany-Corvallis Bikeway, Albany-Corvallis Highway, Corvallis to Albany Trail, Highway 20, Independence Road, multi-use path