Long awaited completion of sidewalk along Crestline Drive in Waldport comes just in time for school

By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle

WALDPORT – A shiny new swath of asphalt path stretched along Crestline Drive will make students’ return to school by hoof or Huffy that much safer next week – but who wants to wait.

While not quite finished, the 10-foot-wide pathway that runs a half-mile along the road’s east side from Crestview Heights School north to Range Drive is already attracting walkers from area neighborhoods.

“We are seeing citizens actively using it before the constructions is even done,” said city manager Dann Cutter. “So I think this is going to be a great contribution to the city as a whole. We are happy with the way it’s looking. And progress seems fantastic.”

But it hasn’t been easy.

Waldport was awarded a $1.69 million Oregon Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School grant in 2021 to pay for the project. The Covid pandemic intervened, cost estimates skyrocketed and then fell, and plans were changed to deal with all of it.

The reason for the final design of a wider, street level asphalt path with a protective curb from Range to Crestview Heights School was a cost saving measure. The original plan was for it to be a raised concrete sidewalk, but the initial bids for that half-mile came in at $2.7 million.

Work finally began in May with Dan Kauffman Excavating of Lincoln City clearing a mass of fir trees and brush alongside the road to establish a base and stabilize where sections of the terrain drop off sharply. Jesse Rodriguez Construction of Silverton began laying asphalt Aug. 1.

A protective curb separating the path from traffic will complete work along that section before school begins. And then the city will begin building a four-foot-high chain-link fence where there are steep ravines.

The project initially called for the path to continue north as a five-foot-wide sidewalk to Southeast Salmon Street after crossing to the west side of Crestline at Range Drive. The reason given for the crossover was the expense and limited right-of-way-space in front of the nine homes on the east side of that section.

“Drainage pipes under all the driveways and the ductile work alone was a quarter to a half million dollars,” Cutter said last August.

Having the sidewalk on the west side would also have allowed it to tie in with the existing sidewalk along Crestline Park. But in the past year, the economics of the project have changed, Cutter said last week.

“The cost of doing it went down and effectively became comparative to the cost of trying to do it across the street,” he said.

The city is in the process of mailing right-of-access forms to the affected residents, but Cutter said he does not expect much pushback.

“Everyone will get free upgraded (five-foot-wide) sidewalks along the front of their homes which will increase their property value. And there’s plenty of room in the setback. Those homes are generally built exactly 20 feet from their property line.”

After completing the section between Range and Salmon, the next phase will continue to Ball Boulevard – all with the goal of reaching neighborhoods with schoolchildren.

The cost of the sidewalk from Range to Salmon is $682,560. To continue on to Ball will be another $188,966. The entirety of the project will run over the ODOT grant amount by $230,000 which will be covered out of the city’s urban renewal district budget, Cutter said.

A timeline for when the project is expected to be completed is in process.

“For over 30 years the Waldport council has been working to provide a safe walking pathway along Crestline Drive,” Cutter said. “It is very satisfying to be part of the team that gets to bring that to fruition.”

• Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com