Urban Road Maintenance District Annual Report Published

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Washington County's Urban Road Maintenance District (URMD) takes care of about 435 miles of urban neighborhood streets that are outside of cities.

Pavement maintenance is URMD's primary mission. Due to effective maintenance planning and cyclical surface treatments, 95 percent of URMD streets are rated in "good" or better pavement condition as of 2013.

The District also constructs small safety improvements. Since 2012, seven projects were completed, six are in design or planned for construction this summer, and six more are recommended for 2014-2015.

A citizen advisory committee reviews URMD services and makes recommendations about service levels, annual maintenance plans, and safety improvements. The committee invites residents, property owners, and users of URMD-maintained streets to complete the URMD customer satisfaction survey.

Property owners in urban unincorporated Washington County pay $0.2456 per $1000 assessed value for URMD. The District sunsets every ten years. In 2013, the Board of County Commissioners continued the District through June 2024.

The URMD 2012-2013 Annual Report is available online. To request a printed copy of the report, or to request a road service, contact 503-846-ROAD (846-7623) or [email protected].

While URMD-maintained neighborhood streets are in good condition and adequately funded, major urban roads and rural roads maintained by the county are in decline. Maintenance of these roads is primarily funded by the gas tax, which is not keeping pace with increasing maintenance costs and growing needs. In order to address this challenge proactively, the Board of County Commissioners is considering a countywide vehicle registration fee of $30 per year for most vehicles owned by Washington County residents and businesses. You can get additional information on this issue at www.co.washington.or.us/VRF.

Washington County is committed to planning, building and maintaining a great transportation system, ensuring the safety of all roadway users, and to operating the county roadway system in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner.

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