Tualatin previews long-range options for congested 12th & Sherwood/Boones Ferry railroad crossing; design charrette June 2

City engineer Mike McCarthy and engineering associate Abby McFetridge told the council that a study of the intersection at 12th and Sherwood Road with Boones Ferry Road and the adjacent railroad crossing confirmed longstanding congestion, crash and walkability problems and narrowed the range of feasible structural options.

"We've been working on the existing conditions and really documenting what's there," McCarthy said, noting the team has formed a project advisory committee with railroad and regional agency participation and has compiled traffic counts, crash data and floodplain mapping. Staff urged that a design charrette for the public is scheduled June 2 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the council chambers.

The city presented a consultantviability analysis that advised against both lowering the railroad (conflicts with the 100-year floodplain and water management) and raising it (substantially higher cost and the need for temporary "shoofly" tracks during construction). McCarthy said those constraints leave two main pathways: (1) large, grade-separated bridge solutions that are complex and costly, or (2) a set of smaller, at-grade improvements and technology measures to improve traffic operations and safety in the near term.

Staff emphasized trade-offs: "Some of the surface-level improvements could be done sooner," McFetridge said, but added that major grade-separation options could require a multi-phase construction approach because traffic and business access must be maintained during build-out. The project team estimated that, should a large structural option be selected, construction is likely a minimum of 10 years away.

The presentation showed the study area lies near the edge of the 100-year and 500-year floodplains, and identified floodways and environmental constraints that limit vertical-shifting options. Staff also reported difficulty obtaining consistent freight-train timing from the railroad but said commuter service runs about five trains each direction in peak periods and freight trains are frequent and sometimes very longa key factor in long queueing and recovery times at the intersection.

Councilors pressed staff on outreach to property owners and the potential for property impacts. McCarthy said mailers were sent to owners within roughly 700 feet of the intersection and that direct discussions would increase if an alternative requiring acquisition moved forward. He also noted the need to preserve access for TVF&R's Station on 90th and the challenges of maintaining turning movements and business access under many grade-separated designs.

The project advisory committee meeting included railroad representatives (some attending remotely), planning commission members, TriMet, Metro, Washington County and ODOT rail. Staff said agencies generally recognize the problems and are willing to continue working together; several regional and railroad representatives were described as receptive to looking at a bridge-over option alongside improved at-grade measures.

Next steps: staff will hold the June 2 public design charrette, gather community options and continue to evaluate and narrow alternatives with the PAC. They plan to return to council with refined options in late summer (staff estimated August or September) after public input and further analysis.