Construction to repair and eventually reopen Timber Road was scheduled to begin Tuesday, September 3, Washington County Land Use and Transportation said.
“It’s important for travelers to understand that Timber Road will remain closed during construction,” LUT Public Information Officer Chris Lueneburg said in an email to this newspaper. “Workers will be on site and we will be excavating the slope. We’re hoping to reopen the road by the end of the year,” he added.
The project’s expected completion date was moved from November 30 to December 30, according to a county-maintained webpage for the project.
“Our contractor will begin preparing the work site by installing erosion control and removing the asphalt from the road,” the county said in a project update. “We expect they will begin excavating the slope by mid-September. In the following months, they will rebuild the slope with stronger materials, add a stone embankment for additional support and rebuild the road on top.”
Timber Road has been closed on the Highway 6 side since March 6, 2023 due to a slow-moving landslide crumbling the hillside under the road.
The project is funded through the County Road Fund, and was budgeted in the FY 2024-25 Annual Road Maintenance Work Program adopted by the board June 18.
The project was estimated by county engineers at between $4.2 and $5.15 million.
Eight companies bid on the project, with the lowest bid of $3,963,774 by Banks’ Lyda Excavating, Inc, who will complete the project. The highest bid was over $7 million.
Washington County Land Use and Transportation could not immediately be reached for comment in time for publication.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
