Project Background

Project location:         U.S. 20 (Corvallis-Newport Highway) — milepost 14.68 - 24.75

Project Description: The U.S. 20: Pioneer Mountain – Eddyville project will replace the existing highway with a new section built to modern safety and design standards. The new route will be safer and 3 miles shorter. The new alignment follows the existing route in some locations while in others it will be relocated.  Widening the highway will allow interstate trucks to use this route. Passing opportunities will increase along the length of the project.

Project Purpose and Need: U.S. 20 is a major route connecting the Willamette Valley with the central Oregon coast. It is an important commercial and recreational travel corridor. The highway is heavily used by commercial truckers and tourists. It also provides local access for residents of rural Lincoln County. The wood products industry relies on the highway to bring products from forest to mill to market. This is the last significant unimproved section of U.S. 20 between Newport and the Willamette Valley.

There have been numerous fatal accidents on this section of highway 20. It is the original alignment - an undivided, two-lane highway through a heavily forested area. The existing highway also has many sharp curves, which restrict the use of some commercial trucks allowed to travel between Interstate 5 and the central coast. The existing horizontal and vertical alignment limits sight distance and reduces travel speed. About 90 percent of this highway section is marked for “No Passing.” Combined with growing traffic volumes, the physical characteristics of the highway contribute to traffic congestion, slow travel speeds and serious safety problems. A portion of the route is part of a designated State Highway Safety Corridor.

Completion of the Environmental Impact Statement. ODOT completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for this project in June 2004. The Federal Highway Administration issued the Record of Decision (ROD) in July 2004.

Public Support: The general feedback towards the project: “Are you really going to build it?” and “Hurry up, the sooner the better”.  In general, the public is very happy this highway is being replaced and that project is moving forward. 

Key project milestones/schedule:

Draft Environmental Impact Statement	COMPLETED - December 2003
Public hearing	COMPLETED - January 2004
Final Environmental Impact Statement	COMPLETED - June 2004
Record of Decision	COMPLETED - July 2004
Design/Build Request for Qualifications (RFQ)	COMPLETED – August 2004
Request for Proposals (RFP)	COMPLETED - November 2004
Proposal Due Date	COMPLETED - March 25, 2005
Design/Build Contract award date	COMPLETED - July 2005
Hayes Creek Replacement	COMPLETED - June 2006
Construction Began	Spring 2006
Project Completion	2011 or 2012

Design Build Team: The Yaquina River Constructors (YRC), a joint venture team led by Granite Construction Company Inc. and Wilder Construction was awarded the contract in July 2005. Subconsultants on the team include: T.Y. Lin International, HW Lochener, PBS Engineering and Environmental, URS Corporation, Exeltech Consulting, Bluedot Group and Golder Associates, Inc.

Lincoln County’s Partnership and Leadership:  Lincoln County’s support and advocacy for the project has been critical with both state and federal legislators. Although they are not contributing direct funding to the project, the County has agreed to accept jurisdictional transfer of three sections of highway as a contribution to the project. This results in less maintenance costs for the State. These sections of highway are what will become the “old highway” when the new highway is completed, a portion of the US 20 Toledo Business Loop Highway and the Otter Crest Loop Highway.