Newberg-Dundee Bypass ribbon cutting scheduled December 18 at 2:30 p.m.

December 14, 2017                                              For more information: Lou Torres, 503-986-2880

12-246-R2                                                                                          louis.c.torres@odot.state.or.us

 

Newberg-Dundee Bypass ribbon cutting scheduled December 18 at 2:30 p.m.

Governor Brown to be keynote speaker at ribbon cutting

NEWBERG-The official ribbon cutting of the Newberg-Dundee Bypass Phase 1 project is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Monday, December 18. The road is scheduled to open to traffic in early January.

The ribbon cutting ceremony featuring Governor Kate Brown and other federal, state and local dignitaries will be held at a location on the Bypass just east of Chehalem Creek in between Newberg and Dundee.

The event is being sponsored by ODOT and the Yamhill County Parkway Committee and is open to the general public. Parking for the event will be on the Bypass. Access to the event will be at OR 219 and the Bypass (OR 18) where signage and flaggers will direct (OR 219) southbound and northbound traffic on to the Bypass. A shuttle will be available to help those visitors with disabilities.

The $252 million project will be completed in just over four years on schedule and on budget. The project consists of almost 4 miles of new 2-lane roadway connecting OR 99W just west of Dundee to OR 219 south of Newberg. Springbrook Road was reconstructed to connect the Bypass with OR 99W east of downtown Newberg.

Travelers will be able to enter the Bypass at two new signalized intersections at OR 99W west of Dundee and at OR 219 south of Newberg. Also, the intersections of OR 219 and Springbrook Road and OR 99W and Springbrook Road were rebuilt with new signals that will help control the increased traffic that will use Springbrook Road.

Phase 1 of the Bypass was built under several contracts which allowed the project to be completed within a shorter timeframe and enabled Oregon companies to work on the project.   The project was funded with $190 million from the Jobs and Transportation Act (JTA) passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2009, some federal funding, and $20 million from the cities of Newberg, Dundee, McMinnville, Yamhill County and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.

The project includes 10 new bridges, including one bridge that is almost one half mile long. Its official route number is OR 18, adding another segment to the already existing road in Northwest Oregon. The maximum speed on the Bypass will be 55 miles per hour. It will also have at least two new TripCheck cameras to aid area travelers.

The Bypass is expected to significantly reduce congestion and travel time on OR 99W through Newberg and Dundee, and increase safety. Large truck traffic on OR 99W will decrease by 50 to 75 percent in Newberg and Dundee.

The full Bypass will be an 11-mile, four-lane limited access expressway around the cities of Dundee and Newberg. The Oregon Legislature appropriated $22 million in House Bill 2017 this year for the design of Phase 2 that will connect the Bypass at OR 219 and at OR 99W near Rex Hill east of Newberg.

For more information on the Bypass and the most up to date information on the ribbon cutting event and official opening of the Bypass, please visit http://www.oregonjta.org/region2/?p=highway99w&expandable=2.

 

 

 

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