Columbia County Roads Department

1054 Oregon St., St. Helens, OR 97051
Phone (503)397-5090 Fax 503-397-7215
Hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday thru Friday 

• 11/19/07 Port Westward Road Improvements Phase -2 Hermo Road Project Information
• 9/5/07  Two bridges on Beaver Falls Road are sch11/19/07 Port Westward Road Improvements Phase -2 Hermo Road Project Information
• 9/5/07  Two bridges on Beaver Falls Road are scheduled to be replaced next year.  The bridges are the 3rd and 4th bridge on Beaver Falls Rd when traveling from the east.  David Evans and Associates are currently designing the bridges.  Temporary road closures are expected during the construction phase.  All questions related to this project should be directed to our office.
• 12/13/06 Columbia County awarded an additional $520,000 to construct guardrail and pedestrian facilities on a portion of Beaver Falls Rd.
• 12/8/06 Portions of Gable Road and Old Portland Road transferred to the City of St. Helens.
• 11/15/06 Columbia County Road Department awarded a $392,400 grant to construct bridges across Milton Creek on Old Portland Road for bicycles and pedestrians. Grant will be transferred to the City of St. Helens concurrently with roadway.
• 10/16/06 Three of the seven weight restricted bridges on Beaver Falls Road have been replaced.
• 9/25/06 Scappoose Bay Watershed Council removed fish barrier on Alder Creek Road.
• 9/14/06 County road crews put down over 14,000 tons of hot mix asphalt this summer.
• 1/30/06  Several county roads damaged by recent storm events.  County is seeking assistance from the federal government to help pay for damage.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The primary function of the Road Department is to maintain county roads. County roads are roads that have been dedicated to the public by adjacent property owners and then accepted by the Board of County Commissioners to be maintained by the county. State Highways such as Hwy 30 and Hwy 47 are not County Roads and are maintained by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Please see the "Roads" page for more information. The primary maintenance activities performed by the Road Department are, striping, brush cutting, snow plowing, sign maintenance, gravel road grading, vegetation management, paving, and bridge maintenance. Eighteen employees are dedicated to maintenance activities. The crew is on call 24 hours per day to remove fallen trees, plow and sand roads or mitigate any other potential safety problem.

Other functions include implementing county ordinances, contracting large projects, obtaining permits for work in environmentally sensitive areas, writing grant proposals to obtain additional state and federal funds, managing Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation funds and repairing Road Department equipment. Three employees maintain the equipment, and there are five administrative staff.