County OKs Congestion Relief Project for Intersection of Canby-Marquam Highway, Lone Elder Road

The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners approved this week a slate of transportation projects using revenue from the county’s new vehicle registration fee, and a Canby-area project will be one of the first ones funded.

The project will reconstruct and add turn lanes to the intersection of Canby-Marquam Highway and Lone Elder Road. An advisory committee made up of 15 community members ranked this intersection as the No. 2 highest-priority project in the county, second only to a widening of Johnson Creek Boulevard between 55th Avenue and Bell.

The Board of Commissioners approved the committee’s recommendations for congestion relief projects on Tuesday, along with recommendations from other advisory groups for safety improvement and repaving projects.

The citizen committee was charged with prioritizing potential projects that could be completed in the next eight to nine years. They were asked to spread projects throughout the county, leverage other funding sources and wherever possible, overlap congestion relief needs with safety and paving projects.

According to Commissioner Ken Humberston, they did an “outstanding job.”

In addition to Johnson Creek and Canby-Marquam Highway, there are projects coming to several other rural county roads, including Stafford, Redland, Childs, Welches and Amisigger. Commissioner Paul Savas said that while most people tend to see congestion as an urban problem, it’s just as common — if not more so — in the country.

Commissioners also approved initial project scoping and other preliminary work to provide congestion relief at the intersection of Highway 99E and Barlow Road west of Canby.

The congestion relief projects the advisory committee recommended, in order based on ranking by the committee, are:

Johnson Creek Blvd, 55th Ave to Bell Ave – widen to 3 lanes, add bike lanes and sidewalk

Canby-Marquam Highway/Lone Elder Road intersection – reconstruct; add turn lanes

Redland Road intersections at Ferguson Road and Bradley Road – add turn lanes

Stafford Road/Childs Road intersection – remove skew, add turn lanes and signals; and

Stafford Road, Childs Road to Tualatin River – add paved shoulders

Welches Road, US 26 to Birdie Lane – add sidewalks and paved shoulders

Barlow Road/OR 99E intersection – initial project scoping

Amisigger Road/OR 224 intersection – install traffic signal; add turn lanes

These projects will be funded through revenue from the new countywide vehicle registration fee that commissioners approved in February 2019. The fee will go into effect in January 2020. A 40 percent share of the revenue will also go to the cities, based on population.

The county expects to start construction on the highest-priority projects this summer.