Transportation Maintenance

Statistics on Clackamas County's Road System.

Road Condition By Miles

Condition	2019
Very Good	976
Good	272
Poor	101
Very poor	58
Total	1407*

*The remaining 6 miles are gravel

County Road System: 1,413 Miles

331 Urban Road Miles
1,076 Rural Road Miles

Maintenance Responsibilities

• 700 miles of striping
• 180 bridges
• More than 2,400 miles of gravel shoulder
• More than 27,100 traffic signs
• 1,885 manholes
• 9,330 catch basins
• 8,130 culverts and storm sewers
• 110,760 feet of guardrail
• 250 miles of mechanical brushing
• 2,500 curb miles of street sweeping

Your safety is our first priority. To participate in the Adopt-A-Road program, you must agree to the terms below.

Adopt-A-Road volunteers agree to:

• Complete and submit an application form.
• Pick up litter on the segment of road described in the application.
• Pick up litter on the adopted roadway segment at least twice a year during daylight hours.
• Select clean up dates at least 1 week in advance after organizing with Adopt-A-Road Program Coordinator.
• Limit your work to the area between the edge of the traveled portion of the road and the outer shoulder of the right-of-way boundary.
  • Do not pick up litter or perform any landscape activities in the road median unless specifically advised to do so by the county.
  • Do not perform any work in the traveled portion of any road.
• Place all litter in trash bags, and leave the trash bags and any bulky items along the shoulder or in the ditch away from the traveled portion of the roadway.
• Conduct safety training and review safe work practices with all participants before each work session. The Adopt-A-Road Program Coordinator will review safety information with your volunteer lead prior to clean up date.
• Install temporary traffic warning signs and devices as specified in the permit before each work session.
• Get a signed liability release form from every participant before each clean-up event.
• Provide adequate adult supervision for all participants between 12 and 18 years of age.
  • No one under 12 will be allowed on site.
  • A signed liability release form from the guardian or parent of those between the ages of 12 and 18 is required.
• Pick up and return equipment or supplies borrowed from the county during regular business hours within 1 week of their use.
• Leave any hypodermic needles or material(s) that may be hazardous, too large or too heavy to be safely moved by hand, and report the location of those materials to the county.

The Department of Transportation and Development agrees to:

• Help you identify a suitable road to adopt.
• Inspect all requested road segments for safety, including sight distance, vehicle speeds, traffic volumes and adequate shoulder width.  We retain the right to deny any location for adoption because of safety concerns.
• Provide OSHA-approved high visibility vests, temporary traffic safety signs, safety training material, trash bags and other devices as needed, with instructions for their use.
• Remove and dispose of filled trash bags from the adopted road.
• Arrange for removal of large heavy material, hypodermic needles or hazardous material from the adopted road.
• Make and post a sign recognizing your clean-up efforts. (Roadway signs are only posted for groups that agree to volunteer to pick up litter at least twice a year for a minimum of 2 years.

Contact us

For questions, contact Ron Buck, Adopt-A-Road Program Coordinator, at
AdoptaRoad@clackamas.us or 503-650-3347.

When Transportation Maintenance receives a winter storm forecast, we divide our workforce into 2, 12-hour shifts to provide 24-hour coverage on the county road network. Our approach is to get ahead of weather events to provide the safest conditions possible for those traveling in Clackamas County.

• Road maintenance priorities
• Preparation and operations
• How the public can help
• Contact us

Road maintenance priorities in winter weather

With more than 1,400 miles of county roads covering nearly 1,900 square miles, we have prioritized which roadways we attend to first, based on safety and meeting the needs of the largest number of people. As always, providing access for emergency vehicles is a top priority.

County roads are treated, plowed and sanded in the following order:

High	Major transportation routes with moderate to high traffic volumes and major collector routes (roads that collect traffic from neighborhoods) with moderate traffic volumes and steep roads serving residential areas. Major route examples: Beavercreek Road and Sunnybrook Boulevard.
Medium	Minor collector routes, urban residential roads, and rural local roads that carry moderate to low traffic volumes. These are plowed during regularly-scheduled work hours when staff and equipment are available.
Low	Urban residential cul-de-sacs and rural local roads with low traffic volumes are plowed during regularly-scheduled work hours depending on staff and equipment availability. Due to the size of the county, it is rare that road crews make it to low priority streets.

Once the severe weather is over, recovery may take even longer than the initial response. For example, sand applied during a 3-day snowstorm can take up to 3 weeks to remove. Therefore, we try to minimize the use of sand and use anti-icing material instead where possible.

Winter weather preparation and operations

Stockpiling
Storing necessary equipment and materials in anticipation of weather events allows us to be more effective and efficient. We have 18 sites throughout the county so trucks, equipment, and stockpiles of sand and magnesium chloride are ready when we need them.

Ice prevention
An application of chemicals that slows the formation of ice and prevents ice from sticking to the pavement. A solution of magnesium chloride can only be applied to the pavement when conditions are dry and the temperature is no higher than 40 degrees and falling. You may notice trucks spraying liquid in a series of lines that run along the road prior to freezing temperatures setting in, this is the ice prevention application.

Snow plowing
When snow accumulation has reached 2 inches and is continuing to fall, we will be on the roads plowing. We also plow bikeways that are directly connected to major roadways, but not bicycle lanes that are separated from the roadway by a barrier.

Snow/Ice removal
Snow plows clear the roadways and spread a mixture of sand and/or chemicals on top of the cleared snow pack or ice. When this layer softens after the treatment, then another pass of a snow plow will remove the next layer from the road surface to improve traction.

Clean-up
We sweep up sand from roads and on-street bicycle lanes after a winter storm to increase the safety of the roadway and protect environmental quality by keeping the sand and other de-icing materials out of the drainage system. Depending on the severity of the storm, clean-up can take several weeks.

How the public can help

If at all possible, don't abandon your vehicle on the roadway
Vehicles abandoned in the right-of-way create unsafe travel conditions for everyone else. Abandoned vehicles impact drivers' line of sight and block snowplows, emergency vehicles and public transit. If you abandon your vehicle in the right-of-way, you will be responsible for the towing expenses, as well as any damage caused from being an obstruction on the road.

Clear sidewalks, driveways and mailboxes
Property owners are responsible for removing snow from sidewalks in front of their property, and for clearing access to their driveway and mailbox. Please do not move snow onto the public roadway as you clear sidewalks and driveways, as this can create a hazard for travelers.

Increase your traction
You can equip your vehicle with better traction by using traction tires, snow chains or studded tires in winter weather. Practice putting snow chains or cables on your tires before the snow comes. Watch a video from ODOT showing how to install cable chains. If you use studded tires, note that they are allowed in Oregon from Nov. 1 to March 31.

Drive responsibly and be prepared
If staying home isn't an option during a winter weather event, you can plan ahead by giving yourself plenty of time to get to your destination, allowing for extra stopping distance and keeping tools in your car such as an ice scraper, car jack, jumper cables and road flares. Also bring water, food and blankets in your car if you have to venture out during a winter storm. You can use TripCheck to find road and weather conditions to be informed before you leave.

Contact us

If you have a concern about an unsafe roadway, please contact:

• Transportation Maintenance, 503-557-6391, during regular business hours (Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) or during ongoing snowplowing operations. You can also report road concerns online or by email at RoadConcerns@clackamas.us.
• Sheriff/C-COM non-emergency number, 503-655-8211, after hours and during weekends and holidays.

Your good-natured commute since 1914

Canby Ferry is a car and walk-on ferry that transports people across the Willamette River between Canby and Wilsonville. Every day, the choice is yours: grind out the same old bumper-to-bumper commute, or sit back and relax as you float across the Willamette for a few minutes of peaceful nature.

• From Wilsonville, the north side, you can get on the ferry from Southwest Mountain Road. 
• From Canby, the south side, you'll get on the ferry by taking North Holly Street. 
• The ride takes about five minutes to get across. 
• The ferry does not have a set schedule; ferry conductors travel on an as-needed basis.  

Ferry Hours and Status

Fares

Motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians	$3
Cars and pickups (Up to 22 feet long)	5
Vehicles with trailers (Over 22 feet long)	10
Vehicle using entire lane	15
Vehicle using entire ferry	30
Punch card (20 crossings) (Save $1 per crossing)	80

All fares are one-way. No debit or credit cards are accepted at the ferry; only cash or checks. Punch cards may be purchased online using a debit or credit card.

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Step 1	Analyze the condition of the roadways every year, on-site, with a computerized pavement management system.
Step 2	Combine the data gathered from the annual analysis with other information about each roadway, including: road classification road surface type the average cost to restore the road to its proper functioning condition road history
Step 3	Create a prioritized list of roadway repair and maintenance projects based on the most cost-effective timing of repairs.
Step 4	Develop preliminary cost estimates for each likely project based on historic costs per lane mile.
Step 5	Compare the preliminary cost estimates with estimated budget amounts and group the projects into a five-year plan.
Step 6	Compare and, as needed, revise the five-year plan with project lists from other agencies and organizations that may need to work on the roadway, including the County Development Agency, County Water Environment Services and other utility providers. This saves money, time and inconvenience to the public by reducing how often work is needed on a particular roadway.
Step 7	Group the final list of road projects into contract packages.

A multi-phase construction process is used to do the actual road restoration.

• First, during the winter and spring County crews repair the roadway's drainage and road base. This may include reconstruction of drainage and ditch systems, repair of failed road base sections and preparation for any other work such as improving a shoulder.
• During the summer, contractors place asphalt on the roadway and rock on the shoulders, and stripe the roadway.

The result is:

• a safe roadway
• with rock or paved shoulders
• that drains properly and
• has a life expectancy of 15-20 years with regularly scheduled maintenance*.

*Over time, oil in asphalt oxidizes and becomes brittle. County crews typically apply a chip seal to the roadway 7-10 years after the paving is completed to seal any small cracks that may be forming and restore a flexible surface to the roadway. This may be done two or three times during the life of the pavement.

Paving Projects Planned Five Years in Advance

Learn more about our 5-year pavement management plan.