YACHATS – The city of Yachats has received a $250,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation to help it rebuild a 540-foot section of East Second Street.
The city now plans to finish engineering plans for the project, send it out to bid and hopefully get it done before July 31, when it can apply for another round of funding, said streets supervisor Rick McClung.
The grant – one of 27 statewide that totaled $6.1 million – comes after the city got a $100,000 grant for the project last year but was unable to use it because bids for the project came in $300,000 over estimates. Now it intends to proceed, McClung said.
The grant is part of a special ODOT program directing money to towns with 5,000 or fewer residents and have roads considered inadequate and or unsafe.
The Small City Allotment program was created by the passage of an Oregon transportation funding bill in 2017. To include as many cities as possible, the program does not require cities to add matching funds.
Program manager Deann Edgar said for this sixth round of funding, the maximum award amount was increased from $100,000 to $250,000 because of the sharp rise in construction costs.
“That resulted in fewer awards — but these awards can really make a difference in today’s environment,” Edgar told Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“It was really competitive this year,” said McClung.
ODOT received 84 applications requesting a total of $18.9 million.
In addition to Yachats, towns getting grants are: Lakeview, North Plains, Amity, Bay City, Dayton, Detroit, Hubbard, Idanha, Nehalem, Oakridge, Rainier, Canyonville, Gold Beach, Gold Hill, Myrtle Point, Oakland, Bonanza, Lakeview, Rufus, Elgin, Haines, Huntington, John Day, Lostine, Pilot Rock, Ukiah and Vale.
“These little cities are notorious for having these little, narrow streets that only one car can pass on,” Edgar said. “No shoulders, no sidewalks.”
The city of Yachats wants to replace an old concrete/asbestos waterline in East Second Street between Prospect and Loma streets. When it does, McClung said the city will also replace parts of the storm drain system, work on surface drainage issues and repave the street.
Some neighbors along the street have been urging the city for years to tackle the project to replace not only the water line but deal with water runoff that flows south off the road and into properties.
- Oregon Public Broadcasting contributed to this report
