Hermiston enters into IGA with Umatilla, Umatilla Co. for design of Umatilla River bridge

HERMISTON – The Hermiston City Council voted Monday to enter an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Umatilla and Umatilla County to seek federal funding for the design of a new Umatilla River crossing.

The agreement follows a 2022 preliminary engineering report that identified the extension of Punkin Center Road as the preferred alternative. The proposed route would extend Punkin Center Road over the river and connect it to Powerline Road near the Interstate 82 interchange via a realigned Country Lane.

Monday’s decision enables the three jurisdictions to apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) planning grant. The grant would fund a “30% design,” a step necessary to make the project competitive for future state and federal construction funding.

“A lot of the more detailed questions that would come up in an actual construction application would be fully addressed with a 30% design,” said Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan during the council presentation

Morgan emphasized that while the agreement formalizes the partnership for the design phase, it does not commit any of the participants to future construction costs.

The total project cost is estimated at $44 million.

Both Morgan and Umatilla City Manager David Stockdale said the project aligns with regional transportation goals by reducing congestion at existing bottlenecks.

“The only way to really get into Hermiston is to either take exit 1 (off I-82), or to go to exit 5 and continue south to Bridge Road.” said Stockdale pointing out that traffic from Umatilla into Hermiston adds to the “pinch points” on the U.S. 395/U.S. 730 intersection, and the U.S.395/Highland Ave. intersection.

Photo of project with Punkin Center Road and Elm Street options from Hermiston City Council packet

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Elkhorn Media Group