Friday afternoon before a 3-day weekend… the worst time for traffic back-ups between Newberg and Dundee, my hometown.
I decided to make a map to illustrate why Dundee, Oregon is the bottleneck that it is.
It’s pretty simple. Our little town is located right between the most populated area of the state and some of the most popular places in the state to visit. To get from the Portland metro area to wine country, the Central Oregon Coast, the Spruce Goose, or Spirit Mountain Casino (the most visited tourist destination in the state), you have to go through Dundee… unless you want to go the long way around!
(Click on the map to enlarge it)
The transportation planners of the state of Oregon just haven’t put a very high priority on funding the roads that this area needs. On Highway 99W in Dundee, traffic jams are a daily occurance. Cars, trucks and RVs are quite often lined up for a mile and sometimes two. It happens on both ends of town too—depending on the time of day.
Time spent waiting is just one of the problems: police officers and EMT’s are kept busy with the very frequent “rear-enders” that happen on this stretch of roadway; businesses are reluctant to set up shop here since drivers don’t want to lose their place in line; tempers sometimes flare as drivers cut in instead of politely merge; and an awful lot of fuel gets burned while people idle along at walking speed.
On the upside, since I work in Newberg (a 5 mile commute), it does give me a little more time to relax before I get home!
I got the idea to make this map from a very interesting blog that I follow called strange maps.
This is awesome. Thank you for *not* putting the back roads on. I wouldn’t want people to find their way past our lane to get around the traffic.
Ha! That’s funny! You’re welcome, Kathy. I suppose if the lines got long enough your lane could become a thoroughfare to the coast!!!
Actually, tho, unless you go clear around the north and west sides of the Red Hills, ALL the “shortcuts” funnel back into 99W at some point. On the east side the Wheatland Ferry or Salem would be the quickest routes…