53rd Street RR Overpass

This project was first conceived back in 1988. While waiting for planning for the corridor and funding alternatives, the project started and stopped numerous times over the years. The project improves a safety concern and flooding problem at the railroad crossing of 53rd Street.

The County was awarded MPO funds to provide final design of the overpass and obtain needed right-of-way.

Estimated Construction Cost : $7 million

For more information about the project, those interested can contact County Engineer Laurel Byer at 541-766-6821 or by email at laurel.byer@co.benton.or.us. 

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) :

1. Why do you have to go over the railroad instead of under the railroad or at grade? ODOT Rail, who reviews all highway improvements that impact railroads, states in their guidelines that At Grade crossings are extremely discouraged. While there is a process to request an At Grade crossing, the situation has to be very unique. We do not have anything that truly prevents us from going over or under the railroad so we will not get that approval for an At Grade crossing. In preliminary cost estimates, we found that going over rather than under was a more efficient process for construction and had less impacts to the public.

2. Why has this project taken so long? The concept was considered long ago. Funding is the biggest obstacle. The County was awarded funds through the MPO to purchase right of way which gave this project some traction.  We have already applied for grants for construction, but this project does not compete well with other larger projects which compete for funding.

3. What are MPO funds? This project exists within the Corvallis Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. This is a federally created region of population 50,000 or more that gets specific funding for urbanization.