In the summer of 2009, after meetings with the community, business owners and the Stakeholder Advisory Committee, the project management team has recommended advancing two options, known as C1 and C4 , for further study in the project’s environmental assessment. Read about all of the alternatives considered.

Both alternatives would:

• include a new bridge over the Hoquarten Slough with two lanes in each direction
• include bike lanes and sidewalks
• widen the travel lanes on Main and Pacific avenues to better accommodate large vehicles by narrowing and rebuilding the sidewalks
• Keep parking on both sides of Main and Pacific avenues

The details of the options being advanced include:

Alternative 1 (previously called Alternative C1) would:

• widen 1st Street from Pacific Avenue to Main Avenue to four westbound lanes with two lanes dedicated for traffic turning right (north) on US 101.
• add an additional eastbound lane from Ivy Avenue to Main Avenue.

Alternative 2 (previously called Alternative C4) would:

• widen 1st Street from Pacific Avenue to Main Avenue to four westbound lanes with two lanes dedicated for traffic turning right (north) on US 101 and one eastbound lane from Main Avenue to Miller Avenue. Left turns would not be allowed from the eastbound lane on 1st Street.
• add a westbound lane to 3rd Street from Pacific Avenue to Main Avenue to allow northbound traffic on Pacific Avenue to turn left (west).
• add an additional eastbound lane from Ivy Avenue to Main Avenue.

In addition, the project team has been working to develop designs for the new bridge over the Hoquarten Slough. The new bridge would be 10 to 15 feet higher than the existing bridge and would not have any piers in the Slough. The change in bridge height would affect the height of US 101 for several hundred feet on each end of the bridge. This change in the height of US 101 would mean that Front Street would no longer connect to US 101. Front Street could be extended under US 101 to provide a new bike, pedestrian and auto connection to properties east of the highway.

In addition to Front Street, some driveways to businesses between 1st Street and about 350 feet north of the Slough could change or be closed due to the change in height of US 101. You can see a profile (side view) drawing showing the proposed height of US 101 compared to the existing height of US 101 that was shared with property owners and the City Council in October 2009. The profile shows the location of each driveway or street connection to US 101 today so that you can see the difference in height between US 101 today and with the project at each driveway location.

Some community members have expressed concern about this change, so the project team is working to identify other bridge concepts that would meet local, state and federal regulatory requirements while minimizing the difference in height between the new bridge and the existing bridge. The new bridge must be built above the 100-year floodplain, be constructed without piers in the Slough, and provide space for debris to pass under the bridge during flood events.

More detail on the range of alternatives studied, can be found on the Meeting Materials page.

The intersection of US 101 and OR 6 in Tillamook actually includes four signalized intersections of one way streets: Main Avenue, Pacific Avenue, First Street and Third Street. Main Avenue carries traffic south, Pacific Avenue (US 101) carries traffic north, First Street carries traffic west and Third Street (OR 6) carries traffic east. The City of Tillamook’s Transportation System Plan (TSP) identified safety and operational issues at these intersections including safety for people driving and walking, and congestion. The TSP also identifies localized improvements to address specific issues.

The Tillamook Transportation Refinement Plan (TTRP) evaluated solutions related to pedestrian safety, truck traffic, and parking in the downtown area. As part of these evaluations, the TTRP concurred that vehicle traffic at the intersection would exceed ODOT mobility standards within the 20-year planning period (2025). The TTRP identified and compared improvements to the local system to enhance mobility but did not identify a preferred alternative for the US 101 /OR 6 intersection.

Learn more about the project's schedule (click on the schedule to open a printer friendly, larger version). There will be opportunities to get involved along the way.

Learn more about the project:

• Alternatives Considered Memo - revised December 21, 2009 (PDF, 7.69MB)
• Display Boards of Alternatives - December 15, 2009 (PDF, 733KB)
• Signal System - May 2009 (PDF, 32KB)
• 2030 Future No-Build Transportation Analysis - January 9, 2009 (PDF, 209KB)
• Existing Conditions Memo - January 30, 2009 (PDF, 1.69MB)
• Environmental Background Report - December 2, 2008 (PDF, 4MB)
• Methods and Assumptions Memorandum - October 17, 2008 (PDF, 199KB)