Crook County holds first public hearing on 2025 Transportation System Plan update

The Crook County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 1 opened the first of two public hearings on Ordinance 354, a legislative amendment to adopt a 2025 Transportation System Plan (TSP) as part of the county comprehensive plan.

The hearing, read by title at the meeting, is the first step in a de novo legislative land-use process; the board kept the record open and scheduled a second hearing for Oct. 15, 2025. No adoption vote was taken at the Oct. 1 session.

The county’s community development director, John Anderson, and Ryan Farcom, a consultant from Parametrix, presented the plan update and a two-year public-engagement effort that included a project advisory committee and multiple public open houses. Farcom said the TSP is a 20-year policy document intended to guide funding requests and siting conversations and does not, by itself, compel construction.

Key proposals discussed include intersection improvements and the use of roundabouts at several Highway 126 intersections to reduce future congestion and improve safety; near- and long-term fixes for the Williams Road–126 intersection; and a package of Juniper Canyon alternatives intended to add redundancy and improve emergency access.

Two Juniper Canyon route concepts highlighted in the meeting are: a northwest connection (labeled W1 in the plan) tying Davis Loop to Highway 27, estimated at $6 million–$13 million; and an eastern connection (E10) largely on Bureau of Land Management land, scoped as a gravel redundant access route with a planning-level cost range of about $24 million–$52 million. Staff characterized these as Class 5, planning-level cost estimates with an assumed range of minus 30% to plus 50% to reflect early-stage uncertainty.

Farcom said the total planning-level cost of projects cataloged in the TSP is roughly $112 million, with nearly $30 million of those projects on ODOT facilities that would be advanced in partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). He emphasized that the TSP is a “menu” of prioritized projects to improve Crook County’s chances of securing grants and other outside funding.

Commissioners and members of the public focused discussion on Juniper Canyon. Some commissioners and the consultant said widening Juniper Canyon Road had been considered but was not recommended as the primary TSP alternative because it would not provide the same redundancy a new separate route could if the primary road were blocked. Several commissioners asked staff to revisit whether a widened Juniper Canyon option should be listed alongside the two vetted route alternatives rather than excluded.

Members of the public raised concerns during testimony. A speaker identified as Tim (speaker on record) urged that roundabout designs and intersection changes account for agricultural and freight mobility, warning that some rural roundabouts and narrowed downtown streets can impede movement of farm equipment and commercial trailers. Resident Wayne Porter said he lives near a proposed Davis Loop–Highway 20 connection and asked for more study of traffic impacts through the Fairgrounds/Lynn/Main Street corridor, the effects on school and recreation-area safety, and the feasibility of construction on steep terrain. Others noted gated-community routing and property-access concerns.

The presentation also reviewed nonroad modes and programmatic recommendations: shared-use paths where state funding programs exist, paved shoulders in selected corridors, freight-related projects (including strengthening segments to better accommodate trucks), and potential transit enhancements such as dial-a-ride services for older adults. Staff noted federal and state funding programs that could apply, including the Federal Lands Access Program, plus local tools such as system development charges, local improvement districts and, in limited areas, tax increment financing.

Staff emphasized the next hearing on Oct. 15 as the date when the board could close the record, adopt changes, or continue deliberations. The record for the ordinance remains open until at least that second hearing.

The hearing materially advanced discussion of Juniper Canyon routing options, cost uncertainties, and the trade-offs between widening existing roads and creating new redundant routes, but no land-use decision was taken on Oct. 1.