"That's a 75-percent increase in traffic on a roadway that's basically remained the same for the past three decades," says Don Jordan, ODOT district manager. ODOT records show that the average daily traffic count at the junction of the two highways ballooned from 10,607 in 1989 to 18,520 in 1999. ODOT officials say the highways are classic examples of what happens when roads built for the traffic of the 1970s and 1980s begin bumping up against their capacities. The corridor also is the only way to one of Oregon's top tourist attractions, the Spirit Mountain Casino at Grand Ronde. They serve as the main route between Salem, the state capital, in the populous Willamette Valley and the Pacific coast. The corridor, dubbed "Blood Alley" by local residents, encompasses two highways, the Salmon River Highway (Oregon Route 18) and the Willamina-Salem Highway (Oregon Route 22). The partnership drew together the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), three northwest Oregon counties, a community traffic safety committee, and a Native American tribe. A notorious northwest Oregon highway corridor has seen a dramatic drop in traffic fatalities during the past three years thanks in part to an innovative public-private partnership.
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