Hermiston City Council Awards $1M Contract for Road Realignment

The project aims to improve safety and traffic flow at the Geer-Harper-First Place intersection.

Apr. 15, 2026 at 5:00am

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A photorealistic studio still life featuring a polished metal railroad crossing signal arm, a stop sign, and a traffic cone arranged on a clean white background, representing the abstract concepts of infrastructure, public safety, and bureaucratic challenges.A symbolic still life captures the challenges of coordinating infrastructure improvements with reluctant railroad authorities.Hermiston Today

The Hermiston City Council has awarded a $1.005 million paving contract to Silver Creek Contracting to realign the Geer-Harper-First Place intersection. The project will modify the intersection to create a T-intersection at Geer and Harper Roads, and add a four-way stop at Geer and First Place. The goal is to improve safety and traffic flow in the area, including the installation of railroad crossing arms, though the railroad will not be contributing to the cost of those.

Why it matters

The Geer-Harper intersection has been a problem area for traffic flow and safety in Hermiston for years. This realignment project is intended to address those issues and make the intersection function more efficiently for drivers.

The details

The project will reconfigure the existing intersections at Geer Road, Harper Road, and North First Place. Planned improvements include modifying the Geer and Harper intersection so that Harper forms a 'T' intersection with Geer, requiring westbound traffic on Harper to stop. Additionally, a four-way stop is proposed at the intersection of Geer and First Place, requiring all directions of traffic to stop. The project will also add railroad crossing arms, though the railroad is not contributing to the cost of those.

  • The Hermiston City Council awarded the paving contract on April 13, 2026.
  • The actual paving portion of the project is expected to be completed by the end of fall 2026.
  • The installation of the railroad crossing arms may not be completed until spring 2027.

The players

Silver Creek Contracting

A paving company based in Umatilla, Oregon that was awarded the $1.005 million contract for the Geer-Harper-First Place intersection realignment project.

Mark Morgan

The Assistant City Manager of Hermiston, who provided details about the project and its goals.

Jackie Linton

A Hermiston City Councilor who asked about the railroad's involvement in the project.

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What they’re saying

“'The Geer-Harper realignment has been on the city's capital improvement plan since 2019.'”

— Mark Morgan, Assistant City Manager

“'Predominantly, this has always been about improving traffic flow. It's important for people to understand that we're going to have to go through some challenges with the traffic flow in that area for a while.'”

— Mark Morgan, Assistant City Manager

“'The railroad isn't paying for the arms. Unfortunately, the railroad would just as soon nobody cross the tracks. They don't make it easy.'”

— Mark Morgan, Assistant City Manager

What’s next

The city will need to coordinate with Union Pacific Railroad to complete the installation of the railroad crossing arms, which may not be finished until spring 2027.

The takeaway

This road realignment project is a significant infrastructure investment by the city of Hermiston to improve traffic flow and safety at a problematic intersection, though the railroad's lack of cooperation on the crossing arms is a complicating factor.