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Schooner Creek Road reconstruction finally about to begin. To be finished by October 7th!

Disaster Aid, Federal Disaster Assistance, FEMA, Lincoln City No Responses »

Aug 092011

Schooner Creek Road and waterline bypass just east of town

It’s taken longer than anyone thought it would take, but it’s beginning on September 7th. That’s when all the bids will be in and the contracts awarded so that ODOT can begin rebuilding a 500 foot length of Schooner Creek Road that slumped out during last January’s four day deluge that caused so much damage up and down the coast. In this case Schooner Creek Road slumped down hill ahead of some big surface and ground water movement. The slide came very close to knocking out Lincoln City’s main water delivery pipe that is buried along the uphill side of the road which connects the Drift Creek Water Treatment Plant to intown water transmission lines. It was a lesson quickly learned by City Manager David Hawker and Public Works Director Lila Bradley. They immediately coordinated the installation of a temporary bypass of the still-threatened line to keep water coming into town. Several months later they built an additional water line from the treatment plant, down Drift Creek Road to Highway 101 where it connects into the town’s water system, acting as a back-up water supply line.

Bradley says the re-installation of the Schooner Creek waterline will run about $204,000, 75% of which will be paid by federal disaster funds. The remaining $51,000 will be paid by the city. Since Schooner Creek Road is a county road, Lincoln County Public Works is on the hook for any local match to fix that part of it. Because the slide was so deep, ODOT secured special FEMA funds that will provide about 90% of the cost, estimated to be just under a million dollars. The county reportedly will have to come up with roughly one hundred thousand as local match. The project is so expensive because crews will have to dig down and clean out the slide, then fill it back in with rock thirty feet deep the entire length of the slide. Then they’ll fill the rock in with gravel and dirt. And then on top of that they’ll rebuild the road.

Obviously for the duration of the construction, motorists will have to use Drift Creek Road just to the south, to get in and out of the area. Again, construction begins September 6th and is expected to be finished by October 7th, right before the rainy season.

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Permanent fix to Depoe Bay’s Dock 1 still a bit up in the air

Depoe Bay, Federal Disaster Assistance, FEMA, Tsunami No Responses »

Jul 202011

March 11th, Japanese Tsunami arrives in Depoe Bay

Although Tsunami damaged Dock #1 has been given a temporary patch, city officials are wondering when a permanent fix will be possible. The money’s lined up from FEMA, the city’s insurance company and the rest from the city, but getting the permits from the federal Army Corps of Engineers and others is taking longer than anyone thought. Keep in mind that under Oregon law, construction in any water body that is habitat for fish has a November to February time window. State regulators don’t want construction activity to foul the water or disorient migrating fish. If a project isn’t done between November and February, the construction crews come out of the water and wait ’til next November.

Getting an environmental permit from the Corps usually takes up to two years. Depoe Bay Public Works Diector Terry Owings said the temporary fix to Dock 1 may not last that long. He says he’s gotten word that the Corps may cooperate and issue a permit in less time based on the urgency of the situation and on the fact that it’s a replacement for a dock that had been in the water for decades. If they do a hurry-up permit issue, Owings said they could drive the new pilings, hook up the new electrical and install all prefabricated sections of the new dock within thirty days.

Owings told NewsLincolnCounty.com, “I’m hoping we can get it done.”

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Governor Kitzhaber seeks federal disaster aid for Lincoln and five other counties.

Accidents-Emergencies, Federal Disaster Assistance No Responses »

Feb 102011

Big Creek Rd (top), Schooner Creek Rd (bottom)

Governor John Kitzhaber today requested President Obama declare a federal disaster in six Oregon counties, including Lincoln County. The request follows the January 11 through 14 storm series that came ashore and dumped torrents of rain on us, six inches in one 36 hour period. The rain prompted landslides on Big Creek Rd between the Newport Pool and Big Creek Park, and caused a landslide a mile up Schooner Creek Road from Taft that threatens Lincoln City’s water system. Other damage like landslides into condos, out from under homes and other private properties are not included in the disaster request because the amount of damage to private properties did not reach a minimum amount in relation to the state’s population. The landslide that badly damaged the south section of the Eureka Cemetery up Yaquina Heights Road was not eligible for that very reason since the cemetery is a private non-profit organization. We just got the final word on that part of it, updating an earlier version of this story.

The request has a lot riding on it for Lincoln City. Lincoln City is hoping that 75% of its initial $50,000 outlay for an emergency water main bypass on Schooner Creek Road will be covered. The original pipe is buried along the north shoulder of the road from the water treatment plant westerly to the city water tank system. The road fracture and slide comes within 18 inches of the main. Wanting to take no chances, the city quickly laid a 400 foot bypass line of above ground pipe uphill from the main to keep the city supplied with water should the road slump further. The threat has also prompted Lincoln City to begin analyzing the costs and logistics of installing a second main between the water plant and the city with a line down Drift Creek Road. City Manager David Hawker told his council last week that the Drift Creek Road project would not be eligible for federal disaster funds. Hawker said that the city has the resources to complete the $500,000 job.

Other counties besides Lincoln included in the disaster designation request are Clackamas, Crook, Douglas, Tillamook and Clatsop.

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