Before all 86 blissful miles of the Salmonberry Trail is ready to roll and walk on, all 86 miles must be studied, probed, and plotted. Now, thanks to an injection of new funding, planning for the final two remaining sections of the trail can be completed.
The Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA) and Tillamook County both announced last week they’ll pitch in $175,000 each toward the effort.
When complete, the Salmonberry Trail will follow the route of the defunct Portland of Tillamook Bay Railroad from north of Banks in Washington County, westward to the Oregon Coast through the Tillamook State Forest and then along the coast south of the city of Tillamook. The trail is broken up into four planning segments. Two of them — the “coast” and “valley” sections — already have completed master plans. This new funding will help fund planning of the remaining “canyon” and “river” segments (see yellow box in map at right).
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Among deliverables for the master plan are analyses of the impacts and constraints of a future trail, as well as potential cost estimates. The study will also determine whether existing tunnels and rail bridges can be re-used or whether they must be replaced.
The effort to build the Salmonberry is led by the Salmonberry Trail Intergovernmental Agency, a coalition of public and private agencies and organizations.
2019 was a big year for the project. The City of Tillamook cut the ribbon on the first paved section of the trail and a nonprofit Salmonberry Trail Foundation was created to help push the project forward.
Learn more at SalmonberryTrail.org.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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