CLATSOP BOARD APPROVES DESIGN CONTRACT FOR HIGHWAY 101 FLOODING PROJECT

A project aimed at reducing the chronic flooding problem at U.S. Highway 101 at the south end of Seaside took a step forward Wednesday.
The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners approved a design and permitting contract with an engineering consulting firm for the removal of an earthen berm on the bank of the Necanicum River. Following completion of the plans this spring, the county hopes to put the project out for bid in early July.

The berm lies along the river’s western bank – removal of it and some old road fill will allow high water in the river to flow into the adjacent field instead of backing up and flowing over the highway. The project is expected to alleviate the flooding that often accompanies heavy winter rains and causes traffic restrictions along the one-mile stretch of highway, while at the same time restore more than 100 acres of nearby former wetlands for a local conservation group.

The $145,382 contract with Northwest Hydraulic Consultants of Seattle covers the development of plans, specifications and cost estimates. The design contract will be funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation; on Wednesday the board also approved an intergovernmental agreement with the agency formalizing ODOT’s role.

ODOT cannot spend money from its highway budget on the berm project because the work area lies outside the road right-of-way. But the project does qualify for funding through the agency’s mitigation banking program, which pays for the restoration and preservation of wetlands and other sensitive natural resources. The work will open up to inundation about 110 acres of adjacent land within the North Coast Land Conservancy’s Circle Creek habitat reserve, and contribute to the group’s goal of re-establishing wetlands and riparian forests on the 364-acre site.

The land conservancy will be represented on a design review team with officials from Clatsop County, ODOT and the City of Seaside that will coordinate the design phase with the consultants.

Graphic Courtesy Northwest Hydraulic Consultants