The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for Skamania County is the region’s principal transportation planning document. The Regional Transportation Plan is developed to meet the magnitude of transportation issues facing the Skamania County region and the need for cooperation between jurisdictions in order to develop regional solutions. The first RTP for Skamania County was adopted in April 1995. An RTP update was adopted in April 1998. This 2003 update to the Skamania County RTP will use 2025 as the horizon year and incorporate the latest available data. The RTP is intended to be a plan to meet the transportation needs over the next 20 years by implementing a regional transportation planning process.
The RTP is a collective effort to address the development of a safe regional transportation system that will support planned economic growth and maintain the region’s rural quality of life.
The RTP identifies future regional transportation system needs and outlines transportation plans and improvements necessary to maintain adequate mobility within and throughout the Skamania County region. The region must plan for a future regional transportation system that adequately serves the population, employment, and visitor growth projected for Skamania County. The RTP’s goals, objectives, and policies will guide the various jurisdictions and agencies involved in planning and programming of transportation projects throughout Skamania County.
The following goals were used to guide the development of the Skamania County Regional Transportation Plan:
- Maintain, preserve, and improve the infrastructure of the existing transportation system.
- Provide a safe and secure transportation system that allows for the movement of people and freight.
- Provide a transportation system that fosters economic development.
- Provide for the development of a transportation system that efficiently uses financial resources.
- Provide an integrated and coordinated transportation system that includes a variety of mobility options.
- Provide a transportation system that is sensitive to the quality of the environment and natural resources.
- Provide for viable and livable local communities.
The area covered by the RTP is the whole of Skamania County. Skamania County is located in the southern part of the state of Washington along the north banks of the Columbia River. Stevenson, the county seat, lies approximately 45 miles east of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.
The population of Skamania County is concentrated in the southern quarter of the county near the Columbia River and in the Wind River Valley. The county has diverse environments, ranging from the gently sloping lands near the Columbia River to rugged and steep mountainous evergreen forest. The Cascade Mountains traverse Skamania County from north to south. Most of the County is heavily forested, with over 98 percent in public and private forest land. Of the total County acreage, 92 percent is in public ownership, while only 8 percent is in private ownership. Much of the private ownership is within the National Scenic Area.
Skamania County has seen moderate growth in the last two decades.
Skamania County Growth 1980 2000 Annual Percent
ChangePopulation 7,800 9,872 1.56% Housing 3,581 4,576 1.63% Employment 2,516 2,979 1.08% For the purpose of the Regional Transportation Plan, the medium Washington State Office Of Financial Management forecast was used. Housing and employment forecast for Skamania County were developed by RTC based on population forecast and historical trends.
Skamania County Forecast 2000 RTP Forecast
2025Annual Percent
ChangePopulation 9,872 12,927 1.24% Housing 4,576 6,450 1.64% Employment 2,979 3,750 1.04% Growth in population and employment, development and resulting land use patterns together with its distribution all affect travel demand. However, other demographic factors also influence travel demand. These factors include household size, workforce participation, employment patterns, and vehicle ownership. The 2000 Census shows that there is an average of 2.16 persons per housing units, 52.3% of county workforce works outside of Skamania County, and that the mean travel time to work is 29.2 minutes.
The focus of the RTP is on the designated regional transportation system. The regional transportation system includes all roads classified major collector or above, principle forest road system, port facilities, bridges, rail facilities, the Columbia River, enhancements, and public transportation. Needs were analyzed base on existing deficiencies.
Capacity Needs Road Mile Post Deficient Capacity Segment LOS SR-14 21.77 - 24.92 Clark Co. line to Half Bridge D SR-14 24.92 - 27.87 Half Bridge to Prindle Rd. Vic. D SR-14 27.87 - 37.04 Prindle Rd to North Bonneville C SR-14 43.90 - 47.44 Rock Creek Bridge to Wind River Rd. D
Safety Needs Road Mile Post Deficient Safety Segments Total
AccidentsAccident Rate SR-14 21.81 - 23.43 Clark Co. Line to Bell Center Rd. 52 6.96 SR-14 24.00 – 26.40 Bell Center Rd. to Salmon Falls Rd. 50 4.52 SR-14 34.09 - 34.98 Moorage Rd. to Beacon Rock State Park 20 5.12 SR-14 44.08 – 44.60 Downtown Stevenson 20 5.53 SR-14 58.08 - 60.37 Tunnels 1 through 5 19 2.01 There are five tunnels along SR-14 in Skamania County between mile post 58.08 and 60.27. These tunnels have a 24 foot pavement width and no lighting. The tunnels are arched with a center clearance several feet higher than the minimum 12.9 foot clearance at the outer edge of the pavement. Due to the low clearance at the outer edge, large vehicles will regularly cross over the centerline when traveling through a tunnel. This creates a potentially dangerous situation due to sight distance problems, which are magnified by the lack of lighting in the tunnels.
Rock Fall Hazard Needs Road Mile Post Rockfall Hazard Locations Rating Improvement SR-14 24.91-25.00 West of Half Bridge 315 Reslope SR-14 25.00-25.20 Half Bridge Vicinity 369 Realign: Move Bridge SR-14 25.40-25.41 East of Half Bridge N/A Debris Flow Fence SR-14 25.46-25.50 East of Half Bridge 225 Rock Fall Fence SR-14 25.58-25.59 East of Half Bridge N/A Debris Flow Fence SR-14 25.84-25.93 East of Half Bridge 345 Realign/Shotcrete or Reslope SR-14 30.20-30.34 East of Smith-Cripe Road 279 Reslope SR-14 30.37-30.46 East of Smith-Cripe Road 345 Retaining/Buttress Wall SR-14 30.90-31.10 West of Franz Road 219 Reslope, Realign, Bolts SR-14 46.34-46.42 West of Wind River Road 309 Reslope and Trim SR-14 46.49-46.56 West of Wind River Road 309 Realignment, Scaling, Bolts SR-14 53.28-53.60 East of Bergen Road 267 Scaling and Bolts or Reslope SR-14 53.28-53.60 East of Bergen Road 267 Euromesh, Scaling, Bolts, Shotcrete or Reslope SR-14 53.80-53.90 East of Bergen Road 453 Reslope SR-14 53.90-54.00 East of Bergen Road 453 Reslope or Scaling/Bolts SR-14 53.80-54.10 East of Bergen Road 453 Euromesh, Fence SR-14 54.60-54.67 West of Cook-Underwood 237 Scaling, Bolts, Fence SR-14 54.70-54.77 West of Cook-Underwood 237 Undetermined SR-14 54.80-54.97 West of Cook-Underwood 249 Reslope and Erosion Fabric SR-14 55.05-55.35 West of Cook-Underwood 327 Reslope and Erosion Fabric SR-14 55.60-55.66 West of Cook-Underwood 285 Euromesh, Wire Catchment SR-14 55.88-55.96 West of Cook-Underwood 375 Undetermined SR-14 58.84-58.93 West of Tunnel 3 315 Reslope, Scale, Bolt SR-14 59.07-59.14 East of Tunnel 3 261 Reslope SR-14 62.50-63.00 West of Cook-Underwood 501 Euromesh, Scale SR-14 63.05-63.20 West of Cook-Underwood 429 Realign
Potential transportation improvement projects proposed in this Plan are intended to meet the RTP policy objective of making the most efficient use of, and enhancing, the existing transportation system. Federal, state, and local revenue sources for transportation improvements are identified and described. Projected revenues for the regional transportation system were calculated in order to determine the level of funding available to meet RTP project needs.
The RTP provides for strategies and solutions to meet regional travel demand and to develop a balanced regional transportation system over the 20-year planning period. Projects are identified in the RTP and then programmed in the local Transportation Improvement Program. The following table provides a prioritized listing of needed improvements for the regional transportation system.
Transportation Improvements Skamania County Transportation Improvements Rank Facility Location Mile Post Description Cost
(millions)A SR-14 Downtown Stevenson 44.0-44.6 Downtown Enhancements Funded 1 SR-14 Marble Rd. to Salmon Falls Rd. 22.7-26.4 EB climbing lane, turn pocket, realignment of curves $4.7 2 SR-14 Skamania Landing Rd. to Beacon Rock State Park 33.2-34.8 Realignment, widen shoulders, rockfall protection $4.7 3 SR-14 Hot Spring Way/Dam Access 38.5 Intersection Improvements $0.5 4 SR-14 East of Stevenson to Carson 44.9-48.1 Realignment, widen shoulders, rockfall $1.2 5 SR-14 Countywide Rockfall 21.7-63.5 Rockfall protection $18.2 6 SR-14 Tunnels 1-5 58.0-60.2 Lower grade 6”, ITS $2.1 7 SR-14 Half Bridge to Prindle Rd. 24.9-27.9 Extend WB climbing lane $4.4 8 SR-14 Wind River Rd. or Hot Spring Ave. Intersection 47.5-49.3 Improve access from WB SR-14 to accommodate trucks $0.5 9 SR-14 County Wide 21.7-63.5 Widen shoulder to 4’ $14.2 10 SR-14 East of Smith-Cripe Rd. 30.1-30.7 Realignment $1.8 11 SR-14 East of Half Bridge 24.0-24.8 Westbound climbing lane $2.4 12 SR-14 Cook-Underwood Rd. Int. 63.32 Intersection improvements $0.2 Total: $54.9 There are insufficient resources within the region to meet all of the maintenance, preservation, and improvement needs of the regional transportation system. If additional resources are not obtained, there will be inadequate funds for all of the needed transportation improvements.
Monitoring of the regional transportation system’s performance is an ongoing activity, which at a minimum will occur as part of the review of the RTP. Monitoring of accident rates, rock fall, traffic volumes, preservation and maintenance needs are used as a tool for identifying and evaluating system improvements for the RTP.
Provisions for implementation of regional transportation goals, policies and actions established by the Skamania County RTP are carried forward through local and regional decision-making process, which takes place through the development of a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). It is in the TIP that transportation needs identified in the RTP are programmed for receipt of funds.
The complete Regional Transportation Plan for Skamania County, 2003 Update is available for download in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The full report is 51 pages, and 1,051Kb in size.
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