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Public works updates summer culvert work and roundabout planning; raised crosswalk request at Philomath unlikely this season
Summary
Public works said a timber bridge removal and multi‑plate culvert installation will begin this summer on Norton Creek, consultants are assisting on a roundabout at Country Club and 50 Third, and a Philomath request for a raised crosswalk on Nineteenth Street is not feasible with the current grind-and-inlay contract.
Benton County public works reported progress on several capital projects: an in‑house culvert replacement at Norton Creek, consultant work on a roundabout at Country Club and 50 Third, and constraints on adding a raised crosswalk on Nineteenth Street during a planned grind‑and‑inlay project.
Staff said the Norton Creek timber bridge has reached its service life and crews will remove it and replace it with a multi‑plate culvert this summer. The county will perform fish salvage before in‑water work; staff said biologists and interns will carry out the salvage operations. A detour is in place and property owners have been notified.
On the roundabout project at Southwest Country Club and 50 Third, public works said consultants are helping determine placement and size; the county expects to perform in‑house design of roadway approaches and aims for construction next year. Staff said the new roundabout will be more urban in design than some rural mountable examples and will be configured to accommodate multimodal users, including safer bicycle and pedestrian crossings.
The meeting also covered a county grind‑and‑inlay resurfacing project for Nineteenth Street in Philomath. Philomath leaders requested a raised crosswalk or raised intersection for school-area safety, but staff said significant storm drain and catch-basin redesign would be required and that the current contractor is already under contract. Staff said adding a raised intersection now would likely require postponing the project and could lead to contractor claims; as an alternative the county will implement lower‑cost measures such as lane‑narrowing striping, delineators and replacing existing curb bulbouts and other low-cost safety improvements.
No new formal approvals were requested; staff will proceed with the scheduled culvert and roundabout work and will coordinate further with Philomath on safety measures and potential jurisdictional transfers after construction.
