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THE DALLES — The City of The Dalles terminated a grant partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) concerning a project on First Street, at the regular city council meeting Oct. 24.
The project, which concerns a stretch of First Street starting from the railroad crossing at Union and ending at Laughlin, is a street reconstruction that involves new utility lines, new sidewalks with ADA ramps and new asphalt. The grant agreement was signed in May 2008, and the project (originally intended to be on a larger scale) was partially funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant, with $1.6 million in federal funds being awarded.
However, in 2021, engineering firm KPFF performed a structural assessment of masonry walls between Union and Washington and found they needed to be reconstructed.
Due to the federal funding received and the historic significance of the walls, their reconstruction would trigger many additional requirements, including an overall project delay of two to three years.
The city found that if they terminated the agreement with ODOT and proceeded to do the project with KPFF, it would be two years faster and they would save approximately $800,000, even with paying back federal funds.
“It is important to note that his termination is not the result of any issues between the city and ODOT by any means,” Community Development Director Joshua Chandler said. “This is more both sides acknowledging the benefits of actually terminating this agreement.”
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