| • | Introduction |
| • | History |
| • | Problem Areas |
| • | The Solution |
| • | YOU Can Help! |
| The Support | |
| • | Sen. Derfler |
| • | Rep. Shetterly |
| • | Rep. Winters |
| • | Mayor Evans |
| • | Mayor Fairchild |
| • | Mayor McArdle |
| • | Comm. on Transportation |
| • | Polk County Admin. Officer |
| • | Public Works Director |
| More Info | |
| • | News Articles |
| • | Photos |
| • | Statistics |
| • | Videos |
Media Articles
Articles reprinted with permission
1. Itemizer-Observer
10-24-012. Statesman-Journal
10-27-013. Itemizer-Observer
10-31-014. Itemizer-Observer
12-12-015. Statesman-Journal
03-11-026. Itemizer-Observer
03-13-027. Itemizer-Observer
06-12-028. Itemizer-Observer
07-30-029. Itemizer-Observer
01-29-0310. Itemizer-Observer
02-19-0311.. Itemizer-Observer
06-11-03
Publication: Itemizer-Observer
Date: October 24, 2001
Reporter: Tom HendersonHOPE ALIVE ON HIGHWAY 22
POLK COUNTY -- County Commissioner Mike Propes is crossing his fingers.
There's a good chance that Polk County may get money from the federal government to make safety improvements along highways 18 and 22, he said.
It could all come down to how much county residents want it.
"The word we get from Washington, D.C., is that it really depends on how much support we get from people in the county," Propes said.
If Polk County misses this opportunity, it could take more than 10 years to get safety improvements for the highways.
With the Willamette Valley's population growing, Propes said, that's too long to wait.
People are dying.
"We're losing too many people," Propes said. "People are dying or being crippled for life. It's just not acceptable."
Between 1994 and 2000, seven people have been killed and 462 people have been injured along the 9-mile stretch of road. That amounts to a fatality once every .73 miles.
The problem is that the highways provide the major link between the mid-Willamette Valley and the Oregon Coast.
Tony Snyder, the county's public works director, said the population of Polk County has increased by 15 percent in the past 10 years.
Meanwhile, traffic along Highway 22 has increased by 80 percent.
Dave Bishop, ODOR'S regional manager, said Highway 22 is considered by state officials as an expressway.
It is important for commercial trucking and commuter traffic, he said.
Having an expressway has given Polk County some clout in Congress, Propes said. Such muscle is important. Competition for federal highway dollars in Oregon is fierce.
Woodburn and Dundee officials are also asking for money.
Frankly, Propes said, they don't deserve it -- at least not more than Polk County.
Woodburn created its own problems by allowing the factory outlet mall and other developments to come in before there was the infrastructure to support them, he said.
Highways 18 and 22 are the valley's main arteries to the Coast. Places like Woodburn are as busy as they want to be, Propes said.
Polk County is as busy as it has to be.
Specifically, county officials want about $51 million to build:
· An overpass and interchange at highways 99W and 22 with an overpass to the Dallas cutoff.
· An overpass at Greenwood Road.
· An overpass and interchange at highways 22 and 51.
· An overpass and interchange in West Salem near College Drive.
Not all that money would come from the federal government. Federal officials would provide matching funds. County officials would have to come up with the rest.
U.S. Rep. Darlene Hooley said the importance of people speaking cannot be overestimated.
"It's amazing what can happen when a group of citizens get together and make some changes," she said. "It can't happen without you."
County residents have been struggling for years to get safety improvements along the highway.
State funds are not an option. On the state's timetable, safety improvements could take 25 years or more.
"We have a problem so big that we can't solve it by ourselves in Oregon," Propes said.
County commissioners hired a consulting firm of Jamison and Sullivan a year ago to go after federal money.
"When you're working in D.C., it takes money. We have to have people back there helping us," he said.
Polk County deserves federal funds, Propes said. Because of the county's low population, residents pay a lot more in taxes than they ever get back in services.
"These are not additional tax dollars," Bishop said. "These are tax dollars that are going somewhere else."
Propes agrees. "If we are going to get any of our own money back, we have to fight for it."
Propes said letters of support are needed by Wednesday, Nov. 7.
Anyone who would like to write a letter in support of highway safety improvements should send the letter to the Polk County Board of Commissioners, Polk County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas, OR 97338.More information is available by calling Propes at 503-623-8173.
Publication: Statesman Journal
Date: October 27, 2001
Reporter: Stefanie Knowlton
HIGHWAY 22 IN RUNNING FOR FUNDINGThe project for the intersection at Highways 22 and 99W is one of many ODOT is mulling.
One of the deadliest highways in the Mid-Willamette Valley might become safer if an interchange project is approved for some of the $400 million in Oregon Department of Transportation funds.
The improvement at the Highway 22 and Highway 99W intersection is among more than 30 projects recommended by local officials this week to the Oregon Transportation Commission.
There have been several fatal accidents in the past few years near that intersection at Highway 22, Salem's main route to the coast. The proposed interchange would cost $11.6 million.
"Anything they can do to help with 99 and 22 to make it safer is good," said Sgt. Nathan Goldberg, who patrols the area for the Polk County Sheriff's Office. He has seen several accidents there, he said, but no fatalities.
The 30 projects to make the list will cost about $85 million and will come out of a pot of bond money approved by the Oregon Legislature this year. The commission will make a final decision on projects in February.
Other projects that made the list in Marion and Polk counties include street improvements in Woodburn near Highway 214 and in Dallas near the Dallas-Rickreall Highway and Kings Valley Highway. A $2.1 million face lift for Wallace Road NW in Salem also made the list.
A few projects were left out of the final recommendation because funding was limited, said Dave Bishop, mid-Willamette-area manager for ODOT.
"The list is just a dent in the real need," he said, "and that's why its so difficult to prioritize these projects because there are so many needy projects."
A much-needed renovation of the Interstate 5 interchange at Woodburn did not make the list.
The project was second on the list of projects costing more than $10 million that were recommended by the Mid-Willamette Area Commission on Transportation to a regional committee this week. But it didn't go any further because of unresolved zoning issues, Woodburn City Councilor Richard Bjelland said.
The city has enough money from the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program to begin the project, which would revamp interstate exit ramps and widen Highway 214 just east of the interchange. But the city will have to reapply next year to continue the project.
Another project that was not included in the final recommendation was Keizer's $4 million underpass near Interstate 5 and Chemawa Road NE.
The city asked for a matching grant of $2 million, but commission members decided that there were zoning issues that needed to be resolved. Members suggested that Keizer look to other sources for the money.
The city will go ahead with the underpass with or without the money, City Councilor Judy Smith said, but it might have to neglect other needed projects to do it. Officials have discussed creating an urban renewal district that would include the underpass area. The new district would set aside money to build the underpass. It's designed to ease traffic to Volcanoes Stadium and a future development.
Tara McLain contributed to this story.
Stefanie Knowlton can be reached at (503) 399-6735.
Publication: Itemizer-Observer
Date: October 31, 2001
Reporter: Justin Carinci
STATE BOOSTS HIGHWAY SAFETY GOAL
POLK COUNTY -- Driving along highways 18 and 22 in Polk County could get much less dangerous with federal money for safety improvements along the roads.The county has already been granted $11.65 million in State matching funds to build a full interchange and overpass at highways 22 and 99W and an overpass extending towards Dallas.
But County residents need to show their support for improvements by writing letters, Commissioner Mike Propes said.
Propes has asked for 500 letters in support of highway improvements by Nov. 7. So far, he's received around 100.
County officials want $60 million to add overpasses and interchanges around the highways' dangerous intersections, including with Highway 99W, Highway 51, Greenwood Road and in West Salem.
Federal matching funds would make up the bulk of that amount.
Anyone who would like to write a letter of support of highway safety improvements should send the letter to the Polk County Board of Commissioners, Polk County Courthouse, 850 Main St., Dallas, OR 97338.
More information is available by calling Propes at 503-623-8173.
Publication: Itemizer-Observer
Date: December 12, 2001
Reporter: Justin CarinciMONEY LIKELY FOR HIGHWAY 22
County Tops Priorities as State, Feds Spend FundsPOLK COUNTY -- After seven years of lobbying for safety on highway 22, Mike Propes and Ken Woods, Jr. are one major step closer to that goal.
An Oregon Department of Transportation commission agreed to award the lion's share of the mid-Willamette Valley's road modernization money to improve Highway 22 in Rickreall.
The Oregon Transportation Initiative act provides $400 million statewide for road and bridge work.Polk County Commissioner Propes and Dallas City Council President Woods convinced the commission to make Highway 22 a priority. The Polk County area had only three votes on the 16-member body that represents Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties.
"We showed how many problems we had in the area -- and how many accidents," Propes said.
"We have fatalities going on each year," said Woods.
The Oregon Transportation Commission will likely approve the Mid-Willamette Valley Area Commission on Transportation's recommendations in January.
The Highway 22 improvements will eliminate the stop light at highways 22 and 99 and provide an overpass to the Dallas cutoff.
At an estimated $16.1 million, the Rickreall interchange is just one part of Project 22, an effort to increase safety along that highway.
With this money, Polk County will become eligible for federal matching funds, Propes said.
Project 22, which also addresses the Greenwood Road, Highway 51 and College Drive intersections, will cost around $60 million.The improvements should take around seven years to complete, Propes said.
Selecting the Rickreall interchange means other projects will take a back seat. These include improvements to Highway 18 near Grand Ronde and to the North Dallas intersection.
Woods and Propes hope these projects get money from a smaller source, the State Transportation Improvement Program.
Woods said he's proud to have helped set priorities for MWACT. "They had some criteria for
highway modernization and we said the safety factor should be there too."Safety is now part of the equation in prioritizing and evaluating projects," he said.
"It used to just be assumed."
Publication: Statesman-Journal
Date: 03-11-02
Reporter: Jody Lawrence-Turner
DALLAS - Polk County Commissioners spent the first week of March in Washington, D.C., lobbying to get more money for improvements on Highway 22.The effort is called Project Highway 22 and calls for correcting safety hazards along the corridor.
The Polk County Commissioners secured $16 million from a state bond package of $400 million earlier this year. The bond was authorized by the 2001 Legislature. The bond is supposed to be repaid through higher auto and truck title fees, driver fees and fees for utility work.
The $16 million will be used to build a new interchange on Highway 22 at Rickreall, changing the traffic lights at Highway 22 and 99W intersection, one of the five most crash-prone spots in the state, and constructing an underpass that will carry Highway 99W traffic beneath Highway 22.
The additional funds being requested are about $57 million to supplement the money from the state and making more safety improvements between Rickreall and Salem.
The start date for the improvements has not been set at this point. The completion date is set for 2008.
Publication: Itemizer-Observer
Date: 3-13-02
Reporter: Tom HendersonCounty Lobbies Congress Group Goes to D.C. to Press for Road Money
POLK COUNTY -- Polk County Commissioner Mike Propes enjoyed his trip to Washington, D.C.
No one told him he is crazy.Not that he went expecting rudeness. However, he was coming to ask for money. He was nervous about what kind of reception he would get.
Propes and fellow Commissioner Tom Ritchey took Dallas Mayor Jim Fairchild and city councilors Lavonne Wilson and Alice Propes to lobby Oregon representatives and senators for highway funds.
Specifically, they want $2 million to build a new interchange at Greenwood Road and Highway 51. They actually want $24 million for a whole list of safety improvements along Highway 22 between Salem and the Highway 18 interchange. Propes said $2 million would be good enough to start.
The county has already been given $11.65 million in state money for highway improvements. Getting federal matching dollars is the next step.
Propes asked for 500 letters in support from county residents for highway improvements. He got more than 1,000.
Members of the Oregon delegation seem to be in favor of the project. The Polk County contingent met personally, if briefly, with U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Eugene.They also met with the staffs of representatives Darlene Hooley, David Wu, Greg Walden and Earl Blumenauer as well as senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden.
"They're listening," said Councilor Lavonne Wilson. "That's what's important."
Convincing the Oregon delegation is one thing. Persuading the rest of Congress is something else. The highway money will probably be attached to another bill.
All the same, Ritchey has no delusions. "It's going to be tough to do. Even though $2 million is a not a lot when you're dealing with figures back here, we have a lot of work ahead of us." He, too, has been encouraged by the response of congressional staffers. "Everyone is interested in the project."
Fairchild said the commissioners deserve a lot of the credit. "Mike and Tom did great ground work getting things set up. They're key to getting this $2 million."
Propes admits he's pretty pumped up. "It's been going really well, more so than we thought it would. Even people outside the Oregon delegation know about our project."
If lobbying efforts are successful, Polk County could see the $2 million in federal funds as early as this year. The other $34 million could be in the 2004 budget.
"It's just seems so positive back here," said Propes, who was scheduled to be back in Polk County March 21. "We haven't run into anyone, not one, who has told us we're crazy."
Publication: Itemizer-Observer
Date: 6-12-02
Intersection gets an Overpass
POLK COUNTY -- After years of lobbying for safety on Polk County's highways, the decision at hand is a refreshing one. It's not whether the intersection of highways 22 and 99 will get a safer interchange.
It's what it will look like.
The Oregon Department of Transportation was to hold a meeting on the interchange's design June 11 at the Polk County Fairgrounds. ODOT called the meeting to get local input on design options.
The options involve Highway 99 crossing over or under Highway 22. Each option could work with two styles of interchange.
The plans would also provide for an overpass extending to the dangerous Dallas cutoff.
The estimated $16.1 million plan is just one step in a long process of improving safety along Highway 22, an increasingly busy route between the Salem area, Spirit Mountain Casino and the coast.
The effort, called Project 22, would cost an estimated $60 million. It would correct problem intersections with Highway 51, Greenwood Drive, and College Road, all between Rickreall and Salem.
This past March, Polk County and Dallas city officials went to Washington, D.C. to lobby members of Congress for matching funds. They brought letters of support from more than 1,000 Polk County residents.
Getting improvements along Highway 22 has proven vital to the entire region. The top officials from Polk County and the cities of Dallas, Independence and Monmouth have all lent support to Project 22.
Publication: Itemizer-Observer
Date: July 30, 2002
Reporter: Justin CarinciSenate takes notice of 'Highway of Death'
Senate approves $2 million for Highway 22 improvements
POLK COUNTY -- After years of accidents and congestion, the need for improvements on Polk County's highways garnered state attention. Projects to improve safety and reduce delays in Rickreall, Dallas and Fort Hill have received state funding recently.
Now the federal government has taken an interest in Polk County. Oregon's United States Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden announced July 25 that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $2 million for Highway 22 improvements.
The money would purchase the rights of way and engineering costs for updated intersections with Greenwood Road and Highway 51 along with a frontage road at the Highway 51 intersection.
That would accomplish phase one in "Project 22," a $60 million Polk County effort to improve safety along the road some call "Highway of Death."
Although the transportation bill faces other challenges before becoming law, county Commissioner Mike Propes said Smith all but assured him he could count on the money. "This is a huge, huge step for us," Propes said.
He credits a letter-writing campaign by county residents and commuters with catching Washington's attention. "We would have never got here without the letters of support and phone calls from the community."
Polk County will remain in the national spotlight as transportation official Roger Libby visits August 1 to inspect Project 22 on the ground. Libby serves as senior legislative assistant to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation's chair.
Libby will see a slide presentation on the project from 4:30 to 5 p.m. at Farroll's Restaurant in Rickreall. That meeting is open to the public.
The national interest in county highways follows the Oregon Transportation Commission's July 24 decision to award $1.5 million for a frontage road along Highway 18 from Fort Hill to Willamina. Dallas received almost $2 million to rework the North Dallas intersection.
An earlier round of state transportation money provided $16.1 million for an overpass at the intersection of highways 22 and 99W.
Publication: Itemizer-Observer
Date: January 29, 2003
Reporter: Tom HendersonSenate approves highway safety funds.
POLK COUNTY -- The U.S. Senate approved $2 million for safety improvements along Highway 22 in Polk County Jan. 23. The money is part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act. Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden of Oregon worked closely on the bill. In addition to the money for Polk County, the bill includes money for 17 other Oregon projects.
"These transportation and infrastructure projects will lead to very real improvements in quality of life for all Oregonians," Smith said. "From rural airports to buses, light-rail to highways, these projects will make Oregon a better, safer place to live."
Wyden agreed. "Financing transportation projects will provide a huge short in the arm to Oregon's economy. These projects will not only create jobs, but will improve the infrastructure Oregonians need to get to work and get goods to market."
The bill must now be considered by a joint House-Senate conference before being sent to the president for his signature.
Publication: Itemizer-Observer
Date: February 19, 2003
Reporter: Justin CarinciCounty OK'd for extra $1M in road funds.
POLK COUNTY -- Polk County will be getting an extra $1 million for improvements along Highway 22.
The United States Congress passed the Omnibus Appropriation Act February 13, approving $3 million total for the highway. Just weeks earlier, the Senate had approved only $2 million.
Polk County Commissioner Mike Propes credited United States Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith and Rep. Darlene Hooley. "Darlene managed to get a million more appropriated than what we had asked for," Propes said. The money goes towards the $60-million Project 22, designed to improve safety along the busy highway.
"This gets us further along in the project early on than we expected."
The money will help position Polk County for larger grants by securing rights to all the property around the highway, project engineering and environmental impact studies. "If we didn't get this, we wouldn't have had a chance for the next big piece of money," Propes said. Improving Highway 22's intersections with Highway 51 and Greenwood Road will cost $25 million.
"We always get left out because the project's not ready to go, so we did it this way. Darlene and both senators helped us put the strategy together and get us ready."
Once again, Propes stressed the importance of having Polk County drivers lean on government officials to get the plan moving. "Just like the Rickreall project, this wouldn't have happened without all the local people and their support."
The bill now awaits the signature of George W. Bush to become law.
Publication: Itemizer -- Observer
Date: 06-11-03
Reporter:POLK COUNTY -- Road Funds Released.
The Federal Highway Administration will release $3 million worth of grants for Highway 22 improvements Wednesday, June 11.
Congress approved the grants in February as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act. The money goes toward Project 22, a $60-million effort to improve safety along the highway.
United States Rep. Darlene Hooley noted that the death rate on Highway 22 is 2.5 times greater than the national traffic fatality average. Polk County Commissioner Mike Propes commended Hooley for her efforts on the project.