Safety Meeting April 6, 2022 - From Victoria Purvine

Safety Meeting April 6, 2022

ODOT: The I-84 projects

Mitchell Point: The last of the rolling slowdowns should be done by the end of the week as blasting should be completed by then. Expect one lane to be closed on and off for the next two years as they start work on the next two segments of the trail.
(Questions that have come up on this project. The money is coming from the Federal Land Access Program which is a competitive grant program that helps improve access to Federal lands. The cost of the project is 31 million and the contractor for the project is Crestline Construction.)

The lifting of the Forest Lane Bridge is going forward with one lane remaining open to travel.

Repairs will be on-going this summer on the Toothrock Tunnel as the repairs include paving of 13 miles of I-84 between Multnomah Falls and Cascade Locks (approximately exit 31 to exit 44).

Exit 41 is expected to be closed to cars starting mid-April and going until mid-May. This work is weather dependent so check with TripCheck.com.

Around a dozen culverts are being repaired on I-84 between Corbett and Multnomah Falls this summer.

Normal summer maintenance will be starting: spraying, guard rail repair, gutter, shoulder and ditch cleaning. The cleaning of the gutters on the Old Scenic Highway should be starting the second week of April. Due to the construction of the gutters it requires tires being pulled through with an excavator to clear the debris. This takes a while and consumes several tires. The Old Scenic Highway has a right of way of approximately 30 feet each direction from the center line and crews will be clearing six feet off the asphalt this summer.

The Time Use Permit from Bridal Veil to Ainsworth will be going in to effect on May 24, 2022. This permit system is a pilot project looking to reduce the number of vehicles on the on the road to improve congestion and traffic flow, not the number of people. Options to travel in the permitted area include transit and Metro.

ODOT will be staffing flaggers at the crosswalk on weekends (planning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday) to help with traffic flow, and the I-84 parking lot will be closed at the West entrance. This closure will be staffed and barrels will be placed to notify the public.

Oregon Parks and Recreation:

There will be a tree planting at Rooster Rock on April 23, 2022 starting at 9 am.

Starting on May 24, 2022 the timed Waterfall Corridor Use Permit will be in place. Permits will be $2.00 and will be managed by the same company that currently does the Multnomah Falls Parking lot permits. The number of permits offered is not set as this is a pilot project and they will be adjusting depending on congestion and traffic flow. Oregon Parks will be staffing the access points and the Forest Service may add staff to assist as needed.

Parking around the Vista House is being evaluated and the lot may be laid out with parallel parking for ease of traffic flow.

On March 24, 2022 a truck backed into a portion of the wall at the Vista House, breaking out a 32 foot section. The repair job is out for bid.

Currently the plans for the upgrades at the Portland Women's Forum are at 30% complete with an estimate of 60-70% in the next five to six months. A couple more public meetings are planned before plans are 100% completed. Experts in the various fields of study will be out in the next two to three months (ie: wetlands) to get their reports and within the next six to twelve months plans should be done. Work is expected to be done in the following two years. The funds for this project are Go-Bond Money and need to be spent in a three year period. This project has been in the plans since the 1980's.

Septic project at the Vista House is complete, up and running with an Orenco AdvanTex system. There is some paving that will need done when the weather permits.

Discussion regarding the "over flow" parking at the Lewis and Clark/ Sandy River Delta area. Will it ever become paved/permanent parking? Several agencies are involved in that area so it won't be anything changed quickly.

Multnomah County Roads:
The County is contracting with an outside party to do the paving on Larch from the six mile marker to the top. This work is being funded by FLAP grant money. There is currently discussion going on regarding who is responsible for the road above the bus turnaround. The upper road may actually be Forest Service road.

Regardless of who is responsible for Upper Larch, there will be an additional snow gate installed at the bus turnaround, matching up with the current stopping of snow plowing. The gate will be designed like the Forest Service gates, the gate at the current location will also be closed as a back up.

The County is working to return to full staff and have seven new apprentices hired. Due to the lower staff numbers they are also contracting with out of area agencies to assist with the work that needs done. WASCO County will be assisting with tree cutting and they are looking at them to assist with spraying. (MultCo is looking for a new vegetation manager, that person will need to be spray certified.) A couple hundred trees were recently removed from Chamberlain road and there was a contract with High Mountain to grind up the trees and debris, which was then offered to any homeowners who wanted them, after signing a waiver. The County can't make money on projects and can't put money back in to the budget so no profit can be made on work done. This works well when contracting with another County as they can only charge cost.

The inmate crews are back after being on hiatus. Please watch out for them when they are working on our roads.

Paving of Stark street is going out for hire, and rut paving on Troutdale road is planned.

A new hot box for one of the trucks has been approved and you will start to see hot patching being done on the potholes. The crews have also been investigating a DuraPatch machine and that has been approved for them. Other items asked for to assist with maintaining our roads are a large excavator, tow behind vacuum trailer and a grader.

Grange: They have a legislative committee working on fire mitigation and drinking water issues.

Corbett Water District: Extending application deadline for Water District manager to April 14, 2022. They are also increasing the pay offered to $80,000-$95,000 depending on experience.

The Master Plan should be done every 20 years and they are behind schedule but are currently working on it. Looking at costs for Manager and staff will need to be included in that plan.

NEMCCA: Thank you to the Water District for addressing the erosion issue at the well site on Deverell.

Forest Service: Will not be opening the Visitor's Center on June 1. They are in the process of re-doing the center and it is not expected to allow visitors prior to June 6, although it may be later. Friends of Multnomah Falls will return to staff the Visitor's Center on May 27, 2022, using a doorway table to provide information until the Center opens. Volunteers are scheduled from 10-2, they may open earlier or stay later if volunteers are available.