Union County curb-ramp upgrades and chip-seal work set to begin

Union County drivers are heading into a summer of staggered construction, with curb-ramp upgrades already underway in North Powder, Halfway and Richland and chip-seal work set to follow on two county highway stretches. The Oregon Department of Transportation said the work will affect downtown access, sidewalk movement and short-term lane closures, but businesses will remain open and pedestrians will be routed through or around the work zones.

The ADA curb-ramp project covers North Powder, Richland and Halfway and is scheduled to be finished in October 2026. In North Powder, crews were finishing concrete work and installing permanent signs, with one more concrete pour and cleanup planned for June 8. In Halfway, work was scheduled to begin June 1 at the southeast corner of Church Street, Gover Lane near corner 5, the southwest corner of Record Street, the southwest corner of Kellogg Street and Bell Street. Richland’s start could be pushed to the week of June 15, with the first work set for the southwest intersection of OR 86 Main Street and Moody Road before shifting to the northwest side of the highway.

ODOT said the project, numbered 23685, carries an estimated construction cost of $6.3 million. Eastern Oregon Contracting, LLC of Milton-Freewater is the contractor, and Consor is the design consultant. The agency said it met with the North Powder, Halfway and Richland city councils in November 2024 to brief local officials on the project. The work is intended to upgrade existing curb ramps and pedestrian signals and add new ADA-compliant ramps and signals where none exist.

ODOT said access to businesses will stay open during construction, but sidewalks, lanes and shoulders may close as needed. Flaggers, cones and signs will be used to direct traffic, and pedestrians are to have access through or around the work areas. In North Powder, the work is on OR 237, the La Grande-Baker Highway. In Halfway, the project reaches OR 413, the Halfway-Cornucopia Highway, and OR 86-S, the Baker-Copperfield Spur Highway. In Richland, the work is on OR 86, the Baker-Copperfield Highway.

After the curb-ramp phase, Union County will see chip seal on OR 203-A from the exit 265 westbound off-ramp to Godley Road and on OR 237-A from Conley Road to Bryan Street in Union. That work was expected to begin July 6 and continue through July. ODOT said chip seal is a lower-cost pavement preservation treatment that seals cracks, keeps water out, improves skid resistance and extends pavement life.

The projects are part of ODOT Region 5’s broader Eastern Oregon maintenance effort across Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Baker, Grant, Harney and Malheur counties, a vast territory that spans from the Washington border to the California border and covers about one-third of Oregon’s land area.