Bridge study will begin soon

By on Wednesday, August 25th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

HERMISTON – The Hermiston City Council unanimously approved spending $50,000 on a study of a possible location for a new bridge over the Umatilla River. Umatilla County is also chipping in $50,000, and the city of Umatilla is reported to have notified Hermiston it will give $30,000 to have Anderson Perry & Associates perform the study.

All three groups will meet with Anderson Perry and discuss the possibility of extending Elm Avenue or Punkin Center Road across the river. Morgan said the initial study could point to the best location.

“There’s a lot of detail that we really need fleshed out before we can really begin to compare those two options in earnest, not the least of which being how much right of way might need to be acquired,” Morgan said.

Anderson Perry is expected to report back to the group in November.

“We’ll have the two cities and the county get back together with Anderson Perry to review what they’ve got completed so far to see where this is headed,” Morgan said.

Also at the city council meeting, the city and City Manager Byron Smith agreed to a two year employment contract with no increase in salary.