As we head into winter, Multnomah County Transportation is releasing its snow and ice removal plan, which is available online at multco.us/roads/snow-and-ice-plan.
The plan identifies which county roads are the highest priority for road maintenance response in a snow or ice event:
● Priority 1 Routes: These are the most heavily used arterial routes, where schools, hospitals, fire stations and important emergency services are located. These roads receive the first and highest level of service in a snow or ice event. Examples of Priority 1 roads are N.W. Skyline Blvd. in west county and S.E. Oxbow Drive in east county.
● Priority 2 Routes: These are secondary roads, often residential side roads, which are plowed and sanded when resources become available, after Priority 1 roads are deemed safe for travel. In severe storm conditions, this may not occur for two or three days. Examples of Priority 2 roads are N.W. Reeder Road in west county and N.E. Mershon Road in east county.
In addition to Priority 1 and 2 routes, Multnomah County has several miles of gravel roads in unincorporated east county that are not plowed because doing so would damage the road bed.
The snow and ice plan web page includes a map that shows the Priority 1 and 2 roads. Multnomah County maintains the highest elevation roads in the county, including Larch Mountain Road in the Corbett area and sections of N.W. Skyline Blvd. in the rural west hills.
The plan targets areas that experience high snow drifts due to wind or unique geography.
Important updates:
● In rural west county, several road sections are now Priority 1 roads:
○ N.W. Newberry Road from Highway 30 to the Portland city limit
○ The Sauvie Island Bridge and N.W. Gillihan Road from the bridge to the TriMet park and ride near the bridge
● In rural east county, several road sections are now Priority 1 roads:
○ Stark Street from the Stark Street Bridge to near 257th Drive
○ Haines Road between Larch Mountain Road and Brower Road near Corbett
ODOT now has jurisdiction of N.W. Cornelius Pass Road, after the road was transferred from Multnomah and Washington counties to ODOT in March 2021.
For more information, visit our Snow and Ice Plan page. Multnomah County maintains 269 miles of roads in unincorporated areas and four east county cities as well as six Willamette River bridges.