ODOT, Benton County outline options and concerns for Corvallis–Albany multiuse path; neighbors worry about safety and property impacts

ODOT and Benton County officials on Jan. 12 updated the Albany City Council on planning work for the Corvallis–Albany multiuse path, saying the team is narrowing possible alignments but has not chosen a preferred route.

James Feldman, who identified himself as the ODOT project manager, said the project’s goal is to "develop an all ages, all abilities walking, biking, rolling facility between Corvallis and Albany" and described a multi‑step screening process that will produce a short list of alignments for more detailed study. Laurel Beyer, Benton County’s county engineer, and Ryan Farncomb, a Parametrics consultant, presented technical constraints near the project’s east end, including steep slopes, floodplain areas near Independence Highway and the presence of a mainline railroad.

Those constraints have practical consequences for alignment choices, presenters said. Feldman told the council that acquiring railroad right of way "is not possible" in at least one option and that at‑grade highway…