ODOT – Page 22 – Hasso Hering

Fog lights: Use only when needed

Written January 22nd, 2014 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 2 responses.

Three years ago, state authorities were moved to remind Oregon drivers about the correct and legal use of fog or auxiliary lights. The advice didn’t take. “It seems to me,” reader Steven Mills correctly observes in an email, “that hundreds of drivers driving with fog lights turned on need an education on the Oregon laws.” His is […]

Posted in: Commentary
Tags: fog lights, ODOT, Oregon law, Oregon State Police

Better rail when? Nobody knows

Written January 13th, 2014 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 2 responses.

As for catching a ride on a high-speed or even moderately fast passenger train up the Willamette Valley any time soon, don’t get your hopes up. There is no estimate for when such a service might start, says Jim Cox of the Oregon Department of Transportation. He and Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell spoke about […]

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: Corvallis City Club, Jim Cox, Linda Modrell, ODOT, Oregon passenger rail

Train service to increase

Written January 4th, 2014 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 4 responses.

Things are happening on the passenger rail front in the Willamette Valley, one right away and the other in the indefinite future. Oregon’s two new Talgo train sets start revenue service on Monday (Jan. 6), when the number of southbound trains stopping in Albany on weekdays increases from three a day to four.

Posted in: News
Tags: Amtrak, Cascades trains, ODOT, passenger rail

ODOT’s solution: Striping or warnings

Written December 4th, 2013 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 4 responses.

The left-turn collision on Highway 20 at Independence Highway on Tuesday (Dec. 3), in which one driver was cited for running the stop sign on Independence and was seriously injured, reminds everyone that there’s a problem. And ODOT knows it.

Posted in: Commentary
Tags: Granger Road, Highway 20, Independence Highway, left-turn crashes, ODOT, traffic crashes

Downtown speed: Who cares?

Written October 10th, 2013 by

Comments: no responses.

Of all the things to worry about, the speed limit on Highway 20 through downtown Albany is at the very bottom of the list. Especially if the choice is between very slow at 25 mph or even slower at 20. But as ODOT explains it, when they talked with the city about “decommissioning” a crosswalk […]

Posted in: Commentary
Tags: Albany downtown couplet, ODOT, speed limits

Our bridges: The “scour” concern

Written May 26th, 2013 by

Comments: no responses.

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 […]

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: ODOT, scour-critical, Willamette River bridges

Keeping up with our bridges

Written May 24th, 2013 by

Comments: no responses.

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 […]

Posted in: Commentary
Tags: bridges, Ellsworth Street bridge, ODOT