URAC recommends city endorse transfer of OR 281 to Hood River City

Hood River City's Urban Renewal Advisory Committee on Dec. 18 recommended that the agency endorse a negotiated jurisdictional transfer of Oregon Route 281 (12th Street through the Heights) from the Oregon Department of Transportation to the city.

Will (administrator) told the committee the agency is negotiating an agreement that would transfer the roadway from Oak Street to Pacific Street while ODOT would retain the bookend intersections and continue signal maintenance. He said ODOT has offered a direct compensation payment (described in the presentation as about $2,300,000) and planning-level cost estimates for a subset of ADA curb ramps the city could complete by Dec. 31, 2028. Will said the agency's 2024 state-of-good-repair study (David Evans & Associates) estimated roughly $8.2 million in accumulated deferred maintenance in the area, and that the city would likely assume more liability than the offered compensation covers.

The administrator framed the transfer as a pragmatic response to ODOT's broader funding pressures. "They're expecting a $300,000,000 budget shortfall," he said, and noted a referred gas-tax measure that will not take effect unless approved by voters. Will argued that local control would allow the city to do work more quickly and efficiently than the state process, and to be better positioned for some grants that require control of the roadway.

Committee members asked several technical and boundary questions. Mark (committee member) suggested avoiding taking responsibility for the short Montello-to-Oak segment if possible, citing localized maintenance concerns; Will said he would raise the concern with public works and ODOT but warned ODOT generally prefers logical boundary lines to avoid orphaned stretches. Panelists also pressed whether ODOT would place ADA ramps in locations that conflict with the city's long-term streetscape plan; Will said ODOT plans to sequence work and has a maintenance lead (Ted Miller) engaged, and that the state may schedule some ramps late in the process to give the city time to implement preferred alignments.

The presentation also described how the transfer relates to the Heights Streetscape plan. Will said the agency has about $7.5 million available (cash plus borrowing capacity from tax increment revenues) to advance the first three projects, with engineering in 2026 and construction in 2027 aimed at meeting ADA deadlines. He noted larger projects such as a potential roundabout could cost up to $16 million and would require separate decisions.

On design, Will reviewed 30% streetscape concepts for Taylor Avenue and interim bicycle treatments on 12th Street. He described an interim contra-flow bicycle lane protected by jersey barriers and candlestick delineators, pedestrian/bike rapid flashing beacons at Pine and Taylor, and trade-offs that include some parking loss on the west side of 12th. He said a public presentation of 30% designs is planned in February or March for further input.

Tina (committee member) moved that the advisory committee recommend the proposed transfer agreement; Jeff (committee member) seconded. After brief additional discussion and the Chair's call for a vote, the committee voted in favor and the motion passed.

What happens next: Will said the Oregon Department of Justice will prepare transfer documents, which the agency expects to be ready for full execution in late spring; payments would follow and the agency would prioritize the first three Heights projects to meet the 12/31/2028 ADA ramp deadline. The committee also plans to continue pursuing additional funding and to present the 30% streetscape designs publicly for community feedback.