Interchange between Salem and Oregon Coast eyed for major changes

Bill Poehler, Salem Statesman Journal
·2 min read
The currently preferred Highway 22 and Highway 51 interchange redesign.
The currently preferred Highway 22 and Highway 51 interchange redesign.

On a Friday afternoon in June, a Cadillac being driven by a 17-year old east on Highway 22W near the interchange with Highway 51 – the cutoff to Independence – crossed the median and hit a Ford F-350 truck head-on.

The driver and two passengers in the Cadillac suffered life threatening injuries, according to police, and traffic was tied up for six hours and even backed up 6 miles into downtown Salem. It was one of two severe crashes on that stretch in June.

Officials say that stretch is one of the most dangerous on the road that connects Salem to the Oregon Coast.

A problem in that area is cars turning left across two oncoming lanes to go to Independence. And it’s dangerous to turn left to get to the many businesses that have popped up in that stretch of Polk County.

There were 10 fatal crashes on that stretch of Highway 22 that connects with Independence between 2016 and 2020, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

So ODOT is looking at major changes to the junction, including an overpass, traffic circles and access roads.

ODOT considering major changes

The preliminary designs reroute traffic in both directions well before the interchange.

Going west, one option would be to build an access road that would cut north and follow 53rd Avenue through a quiet neighborhood that includes Pentacle Theatre and directs cars back at 55th Avenue to an overpass over Highway 22. The access road would continue and merge back on going west near Oak Knoll Golf Course.

Going east, the options include a lane south of Oak Knoll Golf Course that connects with Oak Grove Road and connects back with Highway 22 west of the Chevron gas station.

The second preferred option of the Highway 22 and Highway 51 interchange.
The second preferred option of the Highway 22 and Highway 51 interchange.

One project that includes a traffic circle is the Highway 99W and Clow Corner traffic circle, which is scheduled to be done in 2024.

“I think once we build our roundabout at Clow Corner, that will be a big test,” ODOT project manager Kumar Rethnasamy said. “That will be probably the most travelled roundabout in the state.”

'I'm not interested in this taking another 15 or 20 years'

The need for major changes had been identified as necessary as far back as 2010, but development was slowed in 2015 when an ancient landslide on the north side of Highway 22W was monitored.

ODOT is still in the preliminary design phase. It isn’t scheduled to finalize a design until 2028.

The cost estimates won’t be determined until design work is further along, officials say, and funding for the project isn’t in place.

Under the current schedule, construction of the project would take place from 2029 to 2032.

“I’m not interested in this taking another 15 or 20 years,” Independence Mayor John McArdle said.

Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Interchange between Salem and Oregon Coast eyed for major changes