The collapse of a bridge on Interstate 5 north of Seattle once again reminds us that our bridges need constant attention, maintenance and occasional repairs. I can’t say whether we’re doing enough on that score in Oregon, but ODOT is certainly doing a lot. A few weeks ago I mentioned the work to protect the […]
Ever notice our Oregon state highways? No, of course you don’t, because you and all of the rest of us take them for granted. We take them for granted because they cause us no trouble. And the reason they work as well as they do most of the time is that the highway division of […]
(For a reaction, see below)Albany’s riverfront street, Water Avenue, is not that easy to reach from Lyon Street, the main drag. That makes it tough to try to develop what part of the latest downtown plan calls the “east anchor,” one of the plan’s main features. The proposed solution is to build what has come to be […]
In regard to passenger rail in the Willamette Valley, the meetings continue. Whether they will accomplish anything, though, is open to grave doubt. As previous studies have estimated, improving either the main line of the Union Pacific or the old Oregon Electric to carry more and faster passenger trains is going to cost around $2 […]
Some years ago Albany Station was renovated and expanded at considerable public expense, more than $10 million if memory serves, and it’s been getting steady use. Now there’s a chance it might be sidetracked in the planning for improved passenger rail service between Portland and Eugene. The Oregon Passenger Rail Leadership Council meets in Salem […]
It’s taking a lot of time and money to carry out plans for a bike path between Albany and Corvallis. Is it worth all this effort and public cash? That depends on your point of view. As for me, I wish it was not costing as much and could get done more quickly and simply, […]
Our bridges: The “scour” concern
Our highway bridges over the Willamette River are not likely to fall down like the one on I-5 over the Skagit River. That one was of a design where failure of one member causes a collapse, and it got hit by a tall load. But there is one potential concern with the bridges we have […]
Tags: ODOT, scour-critical, Willamette River bridges