Have an opinion on Highway 6? The Oregon Department of Transportation wants to hear from you by November 28 at an online open house as the state agency studies safety and road conditions on the highway.
The open house, opened earlier this month, is part of a process ODOT must undertake after legislation passed in 2020 requiring the agency study the Wilson River Highway, signed as Highway 6 and the Trees to Seas Scenic Byway, following a string of fatal crashes in Tillamook and Washington Counties in the well-traveled corridor linking the Portland area to Tillamook.
The legislation, sponsored chiefly by then-State Rep. Suzanne Weber (R-Tillamook) and State Senator Rachel Armitage (D-Scappoose) as House Bill 4053, requires ODOT to study the highway and provide an assessment of the highway’s condition, deficiencies, and estimates to repair it.
Those findings are due no later than September 15, 2023.
The legislation did not provide any funding for fixes or solutions arising from the study.
Those who view the online open house will find background information on the highway, and can place markers on a map to highlight issues they know about on the highway. Following that, a short survey about the highway is available.
In early 2023, another open house is planned, which will include findings from ODOT’s study so far.
Earlier in November, ODOT opened a table inside Jim’s Market in Banks and in Tillamook to gather feedback on the highway.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
