>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

IMPROVED INTERSECTION: Work began in June to widen the intersection of Highways 82 and 204 in Elgin. The project also includes reconstructing a half-mile of Highway 204 in Elgin and improving city streets used as truck routes. (File photo).

Bill Rautenstrauch

Staff Writer

Roads and rails and all they mean to the Northeast Oregon economy were the focus of a regional tour staged by the Oregon Department of Transportation Aug. 16.

The Oregon Transportation Commission joined about 40 local government and community leaders on a nearly four-hour bus trip, getting a firsthand look at highway and rail projects being built in concert by state and local entities.

Monte Grove, ODOT Region 5 manager and a tour organizer, said he thought the trip would give commissioners a sharper picture of life in the state's top right corner.

"This part of the state has a lot to offer, and we wanted to leave that in the commissioners' minds," Grove said. "They won't forget this."

The tour left ODOT Region 5 headquarters on Island Avenue and ended with a ride on the Wallowa-Union Railroad, from Palmer Junction in Union County to Minam in Wallowa County.

For openers, participants got a look at the La Grande Corridor Project and the Oregon 82 Alternate Route Project.

Together the projects are designed to relieve congestion on Island Avenue, the principal thoroughfare between La Grande and Island City.

Continuing commercial development has led to increased traffic, access difficulties and a higher potential for accidents. The long-range plan is to make the strip more user friendly, said Northeast Area Manager Frank Reading.

"We've focused on trying to get traffic to use adjacent streets," he told the group.

Currently, construction crews are completing an upgrade at the Riddle Road/Island Avenue intersection.

The project, including widening of the intersection, installation of a traffic light and other improvements, is scheduled for completion in September.

The corridor project dovetails with the Oregon 82 Alternate Route project, a network of improved streets tying into the corridor.

In Phase II of the project 26th Street, 27th Street, Walton Road and Mulholland Drive have all been upgraded. Phase 1, completed earlier, included major work on Buchanan Lane, McAlister Lane and Cove Avenue.

The $4 million project is funded by the Oregon Transportation Investment Act. Union County, La Grande and Island City are partners in its completion.

During the tour, Union County Commissioner Steve McClure praised the collaborative effort.

"I think it really shows what can happen when local jurisdictions work together," he said.

The bus rolled out of Island City along Highway 82, bound for farm country.

It passed the Pendleton Grain Growers elevators where new turn lanes have been finished and a new rail spur is being built through th state's Connect Oregon program.

The spur, constructed at a cost of $65,000, will create room for 25 rail cars for loading grain. At present, there is room for only four cars.

"For $65,000, that will make a heck of an impact on the community," Grove told the tour. As the bus passed through Elgin, Elgin City Manager Joe Garlitz took the microphone to detail a project that includes reconstruction of a half-mile of the Weston-Elgin highway, (Highway 204) and improvement of several city streets used as truck routes.

An important feature of the project is widening of the intersection of Highways 204 and 82, said Garlitz.

"Trucks have a lot of difficulty making that turn," he said. "They have hit buildings there."

As an aside, Garlitz noted that Elgin, in a bid to improve its business climate, has teamed with the Union County Economic Development Corporation in the purchase and development of 29 acres of industrial land.

He noted that the new park is situated conveniently to rail transportation.

"This is a plug," Garlitz said. "If you know anybody needing a site right on the rail spur, have them give us a call."

The ODOT modernization project in Elgin has a $3.3 million price tag.

Leaving Elgin, the bus headed into forest lands in the Palmer Junction region.

Near Palmer Junction, Howard Perry of the engineering firm Anderson Perry Associates talked about upcoming repairs to the aging Yarrington Road bridge.

The bridge, spanning the Grande Ronde River, needs an extensive makeover, said Perry.

Work will include replacement of timber stringers and deck plank with steel girders and steel open grid decking. Also, steel trusses will be straightened and adjusted.

The bridge sees rural residential, recreational, agricultural, forestry and emergency services traffic.

At 80 years old, it is historically significant. Care must be taken to preserve its character, said Perry.

"It's an interesting and challenging structure," he said.

The bridge repairs will cost $664,000. ODOT will pay $515,200, with Union County picking up the rest.

Near Palmer Junction, tour participants got off the bus and boarded the Wallowa Union Railroad train for Minam.

Before they did, however, Mike Hayward, a Wallowa County commissioner and co-chair of the Wallowa Union Railroad Authority, delivered a few remarks.

Hayward said Wallowa and Union Counties joined to purchase the railroad to protect infrastructure.

"This (the rail line) was going away. It was scheduled for abandonment. The people (of Union and Wallowa counties) said, ‘You can't let that happen because you'll never get it back,' "he said.

Wallowa and Union counties bought the 63-mile line between Elgin and Joseph in 2002.

Since then, the railroad has been hauling freight and running excursions.

It has seen some tough financial times, but recently received word of $5 million in funding included in the federal transportation bill.

Its backers remain optimistic.

"It will work," Hayward said. "It will work, even though the days are long and many nights sleepless."

Passengers ate lunch aboard the train. As the line of cars made its way through the Wallowa River canyon, Gail Achterman of the Oregon Transportation Commission said she thought the Wallowa-Union Railroad and the rail spur at Alicel are projects worth pursuing.

"Projects like that help communities, and they help us get trucks off the roads," she said. "They underscore the Connect Oregon strategy."

Connect Oregon is a $100 million state initiative to improve rail, airport and maritime transportation.

Tour participants re-boarded the bus at Minam and rode it back to La Grande.

Along the way, Janet Dodson of Union County Tourism spoke about the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway.

The byway, passing through Union, Wallowa and Baker counties, includes Highway 82 between La Grande and Joseph.

It is designated an All-American Road under the Federal Highways Administration's National Scenic Byways Program.

Dodson said the byway plays an increasingly important role in the region's economy.

"One of the main purposes is to get people off the freeways and doing business in the small towns," she said.

At tour's end, Oregon Transportation Commission member Mike Nelson of Baker City said he was glad the commission had a chance to see something of the highway system away from Interstate 84.

"I'm always proud to bring them out and show them how important the highway system is to small communities," he said. "Our culture's changed. It's more than just the interstate connecting our economic opportunities."