Washington County delays decision on 165-day River Road closure after residents raise concerns

The Washington County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 26 paused consideration of a developer request to temporarily close Southwest River Road for up to 165 days to allow construction of a deep sanitary sewer needed for the Witch Hazel Village South development.

County staff and the project applicant had asked the board to authorize a temporary full closure and detour to allow excavation of a 21-inch sewer line that will be as deep as 30 feet in places. After a two-hour public hearing during which dozens of residents raised concerns about notification, traffic detours, school-bus routing and safety, the board voted 4-0 to table the item indefinitely and directed staff to return with a plan for additional outreach and alternatives before any final approval.

The county’s land use and transportation director, Steven Roberts, and county engineer Stacy Shetler described the work as significant and potentially dangerous to perform while allowing two-way traffic. Patrick Espinosa, the applicant’s civil engineer, told the board the team had evaluated alternatives including directional boring, relocating the alignment and using a pump station, but staff said the options were infeasible or would change the project’s ability to serve future development.

“Given the trench depth of up to 30 feet in places and the limited remaining roadway width, closure with a signed detour is the most feasible approach from a safety and constructability standpoint,” Shetler said. Staff estimated the detour at about 12 miles (roughly 18 minutes) and said local access and emergency access would be maintained during construction.

Residents who live along River Road and on nearby one-lane roads urged the board not to approve the closure without further study and outreach. Speakers said many neighbors first learned of the proposal through a local news story rather than direct county notice, raising questions about the adequacy of the county’s outreach. Concerns included the 165-day length of the closure, potential night work, impacts on small businesses and farms that rely on customer access, and heavy-truck detours through narrower country roads.

A number of commenters asked whether less-disruptive construction methods—such as directional boring or moving the alignment off the traveled way—had been fully explored. Consultants and staff said directional boring would be difficult for the required profile (a very flat slope) and that overhead utilities and a high-pressure gas main limit options in the roadside corridor. They also said relocating the sewer to the shoulder would require costly undergrounding of existing utilities and additional permitting.

Board members pressed staff and the applicant for clearer options and broader outreach. Commissioner Fye said she wanted the applicant and county to present multiple, clearly priced options so the board could better weigh tradeoffs for residents. Commissioner Schneider and Vice Chair Treese voiced concern about the apparent short timeline of public notice given the proposed start date and construction season. Commissioner Willie said he did not feel comfortable making a final decision the same night.

At the end of the hearing the board amended a motion to table the request indefinitely. Commissioners Schneider, Fye, Treese and Willie voted in favor of tabling; Chair Harrington was excused.

What happens next: county staff will work with the applicant to prepare a follow-up briefing that addresses the board’s concerns about notification, analysis of alternatives, construction phasing and potential mitigations for affected residents and service providers. The board did not set a specific date for the follow-up briefing when it tabled the item.

Why it matters: the sewer work is part of infrastructure to serve roughly 900 buildable housing units in the Witch Hazel Village South plan; however, the immediate proposal would interrupt traffic on a heavily used county arterial and generate detours that residents said were likely to shift traffic onto narrower neighborhood roads. The commissioners asked staff to balance public safety, project schedule and the county’s obligations to allow utilities in the right-of-way before returning with a refined plan.

Speakers quoted or cited in this article are listed in the speakers section below.