Nyssa underpass venture stalled

By Larry Meyer — Argus Observer
Friday, September 21, 2007 11:32 AM PDT

Although not on the Oregon Department of Transportation official project list, the underpass at Nyssa (above) is on the radar screen in ODOT Region 5 to be tackled next year if funding for the project can be found.

NYSSA — A top-level, local Oregon Department of Transportation official said the agency hopes to begin the renovation of the Nyssa underpass next year, but a final project start date hinges on when, and if, funding can be provided.

“It is not a scheduled project,” Rena Cusma, Oregon Department of Transportation Region 5 south area manager, said Wednesday at the Nyssa Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Twilight Cafe.

Since the underpass project is not part of the State Transportation Improvement Program, no money has been targeted for the work.

“We’ve had to find additional money,” Cusma said.

Cusma added although there has been money for the design work, there is still no money for construction.

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The best possible source of funding is the major bridge maintenance fund, which Cusma said is generally allocated at about $6 million.

At an estimated $2.5 million, the underpass pass project could use about half of that, she said.

“We’re planning on a spring start,” Cumsa said, but she acknowledged the start date can only be reached if funds become available.

“We’re still doing preliminary engineering,” she said. Because groundwater has been seeping up through the pavement of the underpass, the project calls for the installation of a longer “bath tub” design which will extend higher, toward the upper end of the underpass to keep the water separated from the pavement.

According to current ODOT plans, one lane of traffic will be kept open through the entire project, with one-way traffic controlled by signal lights.

“They will try to get in done in a year,” Cusma said. People in the audience expressed concern that the underpass project could be underway at the same time as another project Cusma mentioned north of Nyssa and scheduled to start in 2008.

That project, designed to revamp the intersection of U.S. Highway 20-26 and Columbia Avenue about a mile north of town, includes a left-turn refuge lane for traffic turning west off the highway onto Columbia.

“It is a safety project,” Cusma said. Chamber members were concerned that having both projects going at the same time and the prospect of traffic restricted at both locations could hurt business in the community. Cusma took note of their concerns and said she would relay them to the project team. Turning to other projects, Cusma said, the North Ontario Interchange project is ahead of schedule.

“They are doing a super job,” she said, and should be done by the fall of next year.

Another project to start next year will add a third — truck-climbing — lane to east-bound Interstate 84 on Three Mile Hill and make improvements to the freeway in Burnt River Canyon around Lime.

One of the challenges the transportation officials deal with is future funding for various projects, Cusma said.

“The gas tax revenue is going down. Car mileage is going up,” she said. “Our funding mechanisms are not going to work anymore.”

Federal highway funds are also down, she said.

“We will be slipping some programs,” she added, explaining these projects will not be cut, but will be delayed on into the future.