ODOT will create carfree lane on Historic Columbia River Highway when it reopens this fall

Cross-section of ODOT’s “phased reopening” plan for the Historic Columbia River Highway.

“This is a great opportunity to try it and see how it operates.”
— Terra Lingley, ODOT Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Coordinator

They say when a fire strikes a forest it comes back even healthier than before. The same might be true for the Historic Columbia River Highway.

When a six-mile section of the scenic road reopens this fall following a one-year closure due to the Eagle Creek Fire, the Oregon Department of Transportation says it’ll have one fewer lane for automobile users. Referred to as the “phased reopening” plan, ODOT will limit automobile use to one lane in the eastbound direction for a five mile section between the Benson State Recreation Area/Hartman Pond (Exit 30) and Ainsworth State Park (Exit 35). The westbound lane will be set aside for walking, rolling, and emergency vehicles (see map graphic below).

As you can see in this section of the highway, there’s currently no dedicated space to walk or bike on.
(Photo: ODOT)

The idea was one of the recommendations in the Historic Columbia River Highway Congestion & Transportation Safety Improvement Plan, an effort launched last summer by ODOT to, “recommend projects and programs to improve safety, reduce vehicular congestion and enhance visitor experience…. along the ‘waterfall corridor’ from Women’s Forum to Ainsworth State Park.” Related efforts include the Columbia Gorge Express bus service which began in 2016 and has since been expanded to keep up with demand. ODOT also promotes carfree Gorge visits and the agency continues to work feverishly to complete new paths that will finally re-connect the Historic Columbia River Highway between Troutdale and The Dalles.

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Map of new lane configuration.

“The one-way configuration for the Historic Highway has been floating around for a decade or so, but there has never been a ‘good’ time to try it,” explained Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Coordinator Terra Lingley in an email yesterday. “This is a great opportunity to try it and see how it operates.”

ODOT says bicycle riders may use either lane during the phased reopening period and that, “Cyclists can use the dedicated lane to travel in either direction, but must yield to people walking and limit speeds.” In addition to making it safer for vulnerable road users, ODOT sees the new lane configuration as a way to ensure more reliable response times for emergency vehicles.

ODOT hosted an open house at Mt. Hood Community College last night to explain the plan to local residents and other frequent users of the highway. As it stands, the highway will reopen sometime in September (if/when all fire recovery work is done) and the new lane configuration will remain in place through October 31st. Right now there are no guarantees about whether this will become a permanent thing. ODOT says they’ll monitor how the phased reopening impacts congestion and safety and if it’s deemed worthwhile they will study a longer-term project.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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alex
alex
5 years ago

if the right line is drive/bike why is there a car only sign? 😉

TH
TH
5 years ago
Reply to  alex

I think it’s saying cars can only go in one direction while bikes and peds can travel in either direction.

Racer X
5 years ago
Reply to  TH

Perhaps the striping plan includes sharrows for that section…

Dave
Dave
5 years ago

Whoa, so cool! Hopefully with enough use and support, it’ll become permanent.

Paolo
Paolo
5 years ago

Awesome!!

Alan Love
Alan Love
5 years ago

There is a similar section on the Pacific Coast 101 bike route a bit north of Newport (if I remember correctly). It was a lovely low-stress stretch of road, away from the constant noise and stress of 101. Undoubtedly there will still be a moderately high level of auto traffic along this part of the HCRH, but at least with dedicated, semi-separated space it will be MUCH more pleasant than what it was. I rode this several times and was always amazed at the impatience of drivers behind me on this “scenic highway”, in such an incredible hurry to enjoy the gorge. Meanwhile, an interstate highway with 70+ mph speeds was just a few hundred yards away.

Clayton Stahnke
Clayton Stahnke
5 years ago
Reply to  Alan Love

Are you referencing the Otter Crest Loop? I’m planning a September Oregon-California Coast trip and am constantly searching for alternatives to 101.

Racer X
5 years ago

There is always I-5 (with it’s 12 ft “bike-lane”) shoulder, with no ocean vistas that can distract one. 😉

Esther
Esther
5 years ago

YES!!! Make it permanent (and extend it all the way to Crown Point please).

Hannah T
Hannah T
5 years ago
Reply to  Esther

If it goes from the Women’s Forum EAST to Ainsworth, doesn’t that mean that CP would be included in the 1 lane car free zone?

joan
5 years ago
Reply to  Esther

Yes! I was so hoping this would start at Crown Point! That would be incredible!

Gabriel Amadeus Tiller
Gabriel Amadeus Tiller
5 years ago

Woah, can you imagine if this was made permanent?!

Tom
Tom
5 years ago

Is it necessary for the sign to take up half the lane? This creates pinch points in the walk/bike lane as demonstrated by their graphic.

Todd Boulanger
5 years ago
Reply to  Tom

Yes, that concerns me too…I hope they do not use the Type-3 barricade and find other best practices vs. what is “free” in the ops yard.

Megan Ramey (Contributor)
5 years ago
Reply to  Tom

I had the same knee jerk reaction, but then assumed this sign will probably be at either end of the experiment area with flex posts to delineate separation in between?

SafeStreetsNow
SafeStreetsNow
5 years ago

Whoa. Did not expect this, and it’s totally awesome. I can’t wait to ride this!

Paul B
Paul B
5 years ago

Long may it exist!

Raktajino
Raktajino
5 years ago

I wonder about how the multi-use lane will be divided. How easily will a car be able to pass another car using that lane?

Dan Forester
Dan Forester
5 years ago

I look forward to riding this in September. If there was a car free lane from Ainsworth up to Crown Point, that would be a spectacular ride. Well, it’s actually spectacular already, just not a lot of fun sharing the road with heavy auto traffic.

Cory P
Cory P
5 years ago

Finally I will feel safe bringing my kid with me!

Megan Ramey (Contributor)
5 years ago
Reply to  Cory P

YAYUS! best comment of this thread.

GlowBoy
GlowBoy
5 years ago

This is phenomenal news. I’ll have to ride this in October.

Jered Bogli
Jered Bogli
5 years ago

I LOVE the reduction of a car lane, but I have more fear of mixing it up with oblivious walkers and cyclists than I do of cars.

Doug Hecker
Doug Hecker
5 years ago

Sounds like a good idea between the months of April 1- Oct 1. I could see Biketown having a few kiosks and scooters as well. Concerns? Clueless tourist, unleash animals, and the part of the year where many people don’t ride or walk in that stretch due to the weather. “Better 30” has a good ring to it. This section isn’t downtown Portland where commuters are trying to get to work but more for the recreational type.

Mark smith
Mark smith
5 years ago

When I drove out there with my family, we drove from Portland to the falls. Coming back, took the freeway. It makes sense to me. Plus, that road needs less traffic, not more. Do it!

Local Resident
Local Resident
5 years ago

You do all realize that there are people who live out here, though, correct? Many people from Portland like to think of (and treat) the Gorge like it’s their playground, but this is our home, and this is causing a lot of frustration and inconvenience to those who actually reside here. Things like this are part of what creates animosity towards bicyclists; the idea that miles of a working road should be shut down just for people to have a nice bike ride (when there are many other bike-only paths in the area). We are happy to share our lovely space (we think it’s awesome—that’s why we live here!), but this is almost like a slap in the face to those who live here.

Pete
Pete
5 years ago
Reply to  Local Resident

A slap in the face – seriously? You do realize that there are many people who live in the gorge without cars who get around by bicycle, correct? Many Native Americans from Celilo to Cascade Locks, for example, and others I have met by driving them across the Hood River Bridge because they can’t bike across it. Ellen Dittebrandt was a fellow gorge resident who lost her life on Highway 84… she’d still be my neighbor if this trail had already been opened. Not all of us are “Portland tourists.” BTW, the trail is designed with the ability for emergency vehicles to utilize as a bypass should I-84 be closed during a disaster.

I’ve taken several Columbia Area Transit bus rides through this construction – some delay, but no big deal. You are over-dramatizing the impact, and you aren’t the only ‘local’ on this blog.

Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
5 years ago
Reply to  Local Resident

“You do all realize that there are people who live out here, though, correct?”

Incorrect. Nobody lives on that section of road.

“this is causing a lot of frustration and inconvenience to those who actually reside here.”

Again, nobody resides there. And it’s a concept, so it hasn’t caused anybody any inconvenience.

“the idea that miles of a working road should be shut down just for people to have a nice bike ride”

And what about everything that’s torn down so that people can have a nice drive in their motor vehicle? I hope you’re equally sad about all the neighborhoods that have been completely erased in the name of convenient motor vehicle access.

“when there are many other bike-only paths in the area”

I count exactly ZERO bike-only paths in the area. Where are the ones you know about hiding?

Kevin G
Kevin G
5 years ago

So how many residences are there accessible from the Old Columbia River highway between the Angels rest trailhead (~exit 28) and Ainsworth state park (~exit 35)? In the first mile, going east, there are maybe five. After that, none. The first mile is in the two-way travel section which extends nearly to Wahkeena falls. I’m guessing that section is two-way precisely to accommodate private inholders. If you were one of those inholders, the only incovenience I can perceive is if you were traveling westbound on I-84 to your residence. You’d have to go all the way W to the Corbett exit and travel back E from there on the old highway. I acknowledge that’s sort of a drag. Do you live in one of those five houses and travel regularly back and forth to Hood River? If so, my sympathies, and you have a legitimate beef with this alteration in traffic flow. Otherwise, you do not have a legitimate beef.

And I note in passing that a very, very high percentage of the Oregon gorge is public land (state or federal). You do not have the option of not sharing that with us. It belongs to all of us equally.

Kevin Geraghty
Kevin Geraghty
5 years ago
Reply to  Kevin G

Actually, “local resident”, I failed to notice the turnaround possibility at Rooster Rock state park three miles W of exit 28 , so the Westbound motorized restriction on the Old Highway would add about six miles of freeway driving to your hypothetical return home from Hood River. It’s probably the fastest way even with two-way traffic on the old highway, given how slow and congested the old highway can be.