Welcome to the Washington County Land Use & Transportation 1st Quarter 2025 Update - a newsletter for all things LUT!

View as Webpage

Microtransit public transportation is coming to the South Cooper Mountain, River Terrace and Progress Ridge areas in early 2026.  

The 18-month pilot project will allow riders to use an app, website or phone to schedule shared rides that pick up and drop off when and where they want to go within the service area. See the Service Area Map 

Sign up for updates, including information on an online open house scheduled for April 25-May 23. 

Timber Road is on track to reopen in May as work continues to stabilize the slope and rebuild the road. The schedule is subject to change. 

Our contractors excavated the slope throughout fall 2024. They’ve been replacing that fill with stronger materials, and placement of rock and drainage pipes is now substantially complete. The road will reopen after our contractors rebuild and pave the road and install guardrail.  

Once the road reopens, there will be intermittent lane closures so contractors can complete road striping and other final tasks. 

Whether it’s to avoid an out-of-the-way detour or traffic on busy roads, drivers sometimes take shortcuts through residential neighborhoods. This “cut-through traffic” can cause problems for those who live on these streets. 

Neighborhood streets typically have narrower lanes than major roads, and often include on-street parking. Cut-through traffic can result in congestion and speeding on these streets, creating both safety and quality-of-life issues for residents. 

But while speeding is certainly against the law, cut-through traffic is not. Most roadways in Washington County neighborhoods are public streets and the public is allowed to drive on them. Washington County cannot prevent people driving on public roads. 

However, there are traffic-calming measures, including driver education and enforcement, that can reduce the impact of cut-through traffic. 

Make a difference in our Washington County community. Apply to serve as a volunteer on one of our Land Use & Transportation commissions or committees.

Opportunities to serve include:

• Planning Commission: 1 vacancy
• North Bethany County Service District for Roads Budget Committee: 1 vacancy
• Rural Roads Operations and Maintenance Advisory Committee: 1 vacancy
• Urban Road Maintenance District Advisory Committee: 1 vacancy
• Washington County Transit Committee: 7 vacancies

Serving on a board or commission allows county residents to participate in decision making and make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners on policy decisions.

LUT helps to control pollution in our waterways with our Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan. 

A TMDL is a calculation specifying the maximum amount of pollutant a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards. A TDML is calculated by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. 

Our plan aims to improve water quality and protect important uses like drinking water, recreation and habitat. We implement practices to control pollutants like bacteria, phosphorus, mercury and dissolved oxygen and monitor their levels.

Prepare to see paving work county-wide this summer! Our road crews and contractors will be doing asphalt overlay, chip seal and slurry seal paving on dozens of roads. 

We’re paving more roads this summer than we have in the past few years. Many neighborhood streets in the Urban Road Maintenance District will be receiving asphalt overlay and slurry seal treatments. This year, we are also slurry sealing several larger roads.

Our summer paving list is now available at Paving & More. The lists will be updated as schedules are released. Sign up for email and text updates to be notified when schedules become available. 

Transportation News

The Walker Road Phase 2 project, between Schendel Road and Butner Avenue, is entering the final stage of construction.  

Butner Road will be closed at Walker Road April 7-11 to allow the contractor to make changes to the grade on Butner to match the new elevation of Walker.  

Preparation for paving will begin in late April. Because of the length and number of lanes, paving may take as long as a month. Striping will be completed at least two weeks after paving. 

Visit wc-roads.com for traffic impacts. 

Hwy 47, Fern Hill Road and Maple Street makes progress

The Highway 47/Fern Hill Road/Maple Street intersection improvements are moving forward. The State Traffic Engineer approved the traffic signal, and Union Pacific railroad is working on plans to improve the railroad crossing.  

Jurisdictional partners are: 

• Washington County - Fern Hill 
• City of Forest Grove - Maple Street 
• Oregon Department of Transportation - Highway 47 
• Union Pacific and Portland & Western Railroad - railroad crossing 

Next steps include filing permits and acquiring right-of-way. A project open house is planned for fall. 

Construction has been delayed on the Thompson Road Realignment due to complications with a waterline installation.  

The second and final Thompson Road closure is tentatively planned for May. Dates will be announced once they are confirmed.

The weekday intermittent lane closures will be 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. to avoid impacting Findley Elementary School drop off and pick up. Our project team is working with the school administration to make sure parents have timely updates.

On schedule: Cornell Road and 25th Avenue intersection

Intermittent daytime lane closures at the Cornell Road and 25th Avenue intersection are expected to continue throughout the summer.  

A 12-day closure of the 25th Avenue northbound lane is tentatively scheduled for late May. Northbound travelers will need to use Brookwood Parkway. The project team is coordinating with the City of Hillsboro regarding traffic impacts, particularly during the Oregon International Airshow, May 16-18 at the Hillsboro Airport. 

More information will be available once the closure dates are confirmed. 

Upcoming Events

Washington County Department of

Land Use & Transportation

www.washingtoncountyor.gov/lut