Historic state trail project extensions planned

THE GORGE — Bids will be opened next month for a project to close one of the last remaining gaps along the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail, while construction on a second gap is anticipated to start late in 2026.

The 20-mile state trail is part of the Historic Columbia River Highway extending between Troutdale and The Dalles. Portions of the highway are open to motorized traffic, but the state trail is exclusive to pedestrians and cyclists.

Currently, the trail extends two miles east from Viento State Park and terminates at Perham Creek, west of Hood River. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will open bids Oct. 17 to extend the trail another mile east, which will require new bridges over Perham Creek and Mitchell Creek. Work will also reconnect several old, isolated segments of the original highway abandoned during freeway construction.

Available federal funding for the project is $8.75 million, with $850,000 of that total directed through Congressional appropriation. There will be no impact on I-84 traffic other than shoulder closures. Construction should be completed late next year.

Meanwhile, designs are nearly completed to close a second gap just east of Mitchell Point, which will require freeway lane closures probably beginning late in 2026. This is a quarter-mile trail segment along Mitchell Point Drive, starting at Milepost 60. Currently, there’s a west-bound offramp to access the drive, which provides local access to Mitchell Point via a freeway undercrossing. The new project will build a second undercrossing immediately adjacent to the current one, allowing dedicated use for cyclists and pedestrians.

Designs should be completed by May 2026, with construction anticipated to begin late that year. A combination of federal and ODOT funds are anticipated.

The final, as yet unfunded, gap is a section of the state trail from Ruthton Point to the City of Hood River, where a small segment of the original highway still exists just west of Ruthton County Park. That final stretch is estimated to cost approximately $40 million — a daunting challenge in today’s economy.

“It’ll be a minute before I find that funding,” cautions Terra Lingley, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area coordinator with ODOT Region One. Lingley has been instrumental in identifying and shepherding funding for other historic highway reconnections.

These projects were among several Lingley and other officials described during a Sept. 18 meeting of the Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee. In other updates:

• Work to restore and repair the west viaduct leading to Multnomah Falls is now complete. Comparable work continues on the east viaduct, anticipated for completion in May 2026. The viaduct is closed until then. The $9.2 million project is being conducted by a Salem contractor, HP Civil.

• ODOT is replacing the McCord Creek Bridge eastbound on Interstate 84 just east of Warrendale. Construction of this $32 million freeway bridge should be completed next fall; the historic highway trail will be closed at that point in 2026, with shuttle service provided.

• A section of the historic highway near Corbett, closed because of a land slip this past July, will reopen Sept. 27 if not sooner. ODOT reconstructed the segment, replacing a retaining wall constructed during an earlier slippage in the 1990s. Nevertheless, land movement at this point remains a challenge: While the new retaining wall and drainage system are expected to last longer than the previous stabilization work, a permanent solution would involve a new viaduct, funds for which are not available.

• The Dalles resident Mike Ballinger is a new appointee to the historic highway advisory committee, representing Wasco County.

• The Gorge Ride cyclist event will be June 20, 2026. The 2025 ride was canceled because of the Rowena fire.

More online

Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail: www.oregon.gov/odot/Regions/Pages/State-Trail.aspx

Trail reconnection progress report: www.oregon.gov/odot/Documents/2025-Progress-Report-WEB.pdf