| U.S. 101: SE 16th Street to SE 36th Street (Lincoln City): Overview |
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| Overview |
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Congestion from SE 12th Street to SE 36th Street on U.S. 101 has become more frequent. Within the project area, as well as other parts of Lincoln City, the highway is nearing capacity. This means there are more vehicles using the road than can pass through without causing congestion. This project builds upon other capacity and operational improvement projects in parts of Lincoln City, such as Taft and Oceanlake. Without these types of improvements, congestion will worsen.
Currently, state and local officials are working together to discuss what the roadway design should be. They are also working together to create strategies to reduce conflict points along the highway that can lead to crashes.
In Aug. 27, 2007, Lincoln City’s City Council and ODOT endorsed the following project goals.
- Improve capacity on U.S. 101.
- Improve safety and operations at 32nd Street to provide opportunities to make left turns on and off of U.S. 101.
- Improve pedestrian facilities and provide opportunities to cross U.S. 101.
- Minimize the footprint of the improvements while meeting design standards.
- Minimize impacts to local businesses.
- Visual and aesthetic enhancements should be considered as the route is a Scenic Byway.
- Improve operations by implementing an access management plan and/or strategy.
- Project will be consistent with the future needs of U.S. 101 and draft Transportation System Plans.
- The design should maintain the uniqueness of the Nelscott area and promote economic development.
- Minimize economic and financial impacts to the City of Lincoln City, specifically utility relocation and right- of- way costs.
In order to meet safety and mobility goals, federal, state and local officials determined that five-lanes are needed throughout the project to ease congestion and meet traffic demand now and into the future.
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| Executive Steering Committee |
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A steering committee composed of state and local officials was created to collaborate on key goals during the project.
The two most important issues at hand have been how to approach funding needs and how to approach the project’s impacts to the Nelscott District, an important strip of historic buildings along U.S. 101.
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| Funding |
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The Lincoln City project is part of the modernization program (adding capacity to state highways). There is an established process based on certain criteria for project funding applied to lists of potential projects by local community leadership through the Area Commissions on Transportation. In this area, the Cascades West Area Commission on Transportation makes recommendations to the Oregon Transportation Commissions (OTC) to fund projects by including them in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
Approximately $29 million is needed for five lanes from 12th Street through High School Drive. This will improve highway continuity and reduce the length of two-lane highway, an important part of easing congestion. Currently, $9.5 million in federal and state funds is dedicated to the project, so there is a funding shortfall of approximately $19.5 million. When federal funds are used to modernize a highway, the project must meet the transportation needs within the project area now and 20 years into the future. Analysis has shown that a five-lane highway is needed throughout the project area if the highway is going to meet the community’s travel demand.
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| Facility Management Plan |
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The amount of available funding and the total project cost indicates that the project construction will have to be phased. City and ODOT officials are discussing phasing options through the Steering Committee. A decision on how to phase in the project has not yet been made. Any phased approach will also need approval from Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Phasing could begin at 12th Street and continue southward, constructing five lanes until the funding is exhausted. Other phasing may be possible if it is assured that the rest of the modernization project can be constructed in the future. A Facility Management Plan would provide the assurance that the rest of the project can be constructed. This would be a cohesive plan for the highway from SW 12th Street to SE High School Drive.
The plan will include:
- The five-lane roadway design, including road features such as right-of-way, turn lane locations, raised medians, sidewalks, bike lanes and multi-use paths;
- Access management identifying where access to the highway, including streets and driveways, should be located.
- A set of amendments to the Lincoln City Development Code to address issues such as setbacks and right-of-way donations in conjunction with development.
A facility plan will help the city, ODOT, developers and the community by defining what the highway will be like in the future. With this information, development can be established so that traffic can operate more efficiently and with greater safety.
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| Nelscott District |
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The other key piece of project design is the look and feel of the Nelscott District.
In the Nelscott District, there are two ways to modernize the highway. One approach is to dig out the old highway and fully rebuild a new one; the other option is to build the new one over the old one. The rebuild option involves retaining the Nelscott strip with separated parking and a drive-through lane. The build-up option would affect the height of the roadway such that parallel parking would be along the highway next to a pedestrian plaza in front of the Nelscott businesses. Both options would affect utility relocation costs for the city and other utility owners.
State and local officials worked with Nelscott business owners to determine what the best option would be and requested a decision from the City Council. The Council voted to support the drive-through roadway design that is similar to what exists for the Nelscott business strip today. This option maintains the uniqueness of the Nelscott business strip but it is expected to have greater utility conflicts that will have to be resolved.
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| Current Status |
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The next steps for this project are to prepare the Facility Management Plan and to resolve what phase of the project can be constructed with the available funding.
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