Several area residents west of Woodburn have posed questions about the ongoing closure of LeBrun Road.
The road runs east-west and connects Manning Road with Butteville Road near its I-5 overpass, not far from the Amazon construction site just west of Woodburn. It also crosses the railroad tracks used by Portland & Western Railroad.
The road has been closed for months.
In early September Marion County Board of Commissioners had the road on its meeting agenda, targeted for a resurfacing project with American Rescue Plan Act grant funds. But the current closure is due to a railway project, according to Marion County Public Works.
“Labrun Road is closed to support an intermodal railyard development proposed by Willamette Intermodal Group,” Marion County Public Works Communications Coordinator Yancee Gordon said. “They, along with the railyard, propose to re-align the eastern segment of Lebrun Road to intersect with Butteville Road approximately 1,100 feet north of the existing intersection and connect into the existing Lebrun Road alignment approximately 700 feet west of the existing rail crossing.
“This re-alignment requires a new bridge, a new rail crossing, and abandonment of the existing rail crossing,” Gordon added. “The County entered into a Right of Way Agreement with Willamette Intermodal Group to establish the terms required for the vacation, or return to private property, of the existing Lebrun Road right-of-way the re-aligned section will replace in July 2021.”
Gordon said the closure is anticipated to be in place until the summer of 2024.
“Willamette Intermodal Group expects the re-alignment of Lebrun Road will be constructed by the end of 2023,” Gordon explained. “The County is currently planning to conduct an ARPA funded asphalt overlay project on that re-aligned portion of Lebrun Road in summer 2024 to better support the traffic needs in the area.”
Lebrun Road will reopen after the completion of that project.
