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Columbia County staff propose shift to activity-based road crews as reserves face drawdown
Summary
Public Works presented a five-year plan proposing activity-based crews and a work program to shift from reactive to proactive road maintenance; staff said the plan relies on drawing down reserves to cover a $3.5 million bridge project, prompting residents and commissioners to question shop access, travel time and labor implications.
Public Works Director Mike Russell told the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 28 that the county’s 380 miles of paved roads face declining conditions and that the department is considering a shift from district-based crews to activity-based crews to get more work done with constrained funding.
"As of 2023, empirical road inspections of our 380 miles paved roads have a system wide condition rating of 52 out of 100," Russell said, and staff expect the Pavement Condition Index to fall below 50 on the next inspection. Russell said the five-year financial plan assumes no new revenue, rising personnel costs and the need to spend down road-fund reserves — including a planned $3.5 million bridge replacement that spans two fiscal years.
The plan would reorganize road maintenance into specialized crews — drainage/bridge, vegetation, surface and a work-requests/special-projects crew — and consolidate morning reporting so crews are briefed together in St. Helens. Tim Hancock, the Road and Bridge…
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