ODOT criticizes couplet plan

Plans to build a Hood/Main Avenue couplet are on hold due to concerns from the Oregon Department of Transportation. The proposals for the couplet alignments do not meet highway standards, ODOT officials told the city.

ODOT officials told city staff and members of the Couplet Advisory Committee that the proposed sharp right hand turn needed to get from the westbound Highway 20 to Main Avenue would not comply with state and federal regulations for a highway.

The Couplet Advisory Committee has been meeting since October to refine plans to build an eastbound Hood Avenue and a westbound Main Avenue couplet. The proposed couplet is intended to relieve traffic congestion on Cascade Avenue during peak periods, and if approved would be built around 2010.

ODOT concerns were raised in response to the various intersection options to access the couplet near the Locust Street/Cascade Avenue intersection. Cogan Owens Cogan and CTS Engineers, the consultants on the project, presented drawings of the options.

"They (ODOT) talked about driver expectations if the couplet becomes a highway," said Eileen Stein, city manager. "It's a bad idea to have a turning movement for the driver to find where the highway is supposed to go. The driver expects to have a through movement."

ODOT suggested closing off access to Cascade Avenue from Locust Street to Larch Street and using only the couplet for the through highway, said Stein. This alternative would allow for a smoother transition from the highway onto the couplet.

To access the closed-off section of Cascade Avenue, vehicles would need to exit onto the couplet and then turn left at Larch Street, Stein said.

"The committee was hoping to have the option to turn onto the couplet or go straight, so the couplet would truly be a 'pressure relief valve,' instead of redirecting traffic," Stein said.

ODOT also presented the option of keeping Cascade Avenue as the major highway and zoning the couplet streets as "city streets," Stein said. That option would change the width of the streets and possibly the amount of funding for the project.

Stein said the city and the consultants need to discuss options with ODOT before moving forward with the project.