Eliminating a Drug Den

By Jane Ames

A lot of workAs North Interstate climbs up to meet the Broadway Bridge, passing the grain elevators to the west, the road has been built up and underneath it is an area that is often called the "Tillamook Caves". For some time people have camped under there, creating "homes" with cardboard, old mattresses, discards and such. Everyone I have spoken with, whether it is police, homeless advocates, Portland Transportation Dept. employees, business owners, describes it as a scary place, a camp filled with criminal and dangerous activity. When police did a clean up there several months ago, they hauled out multiple dumpsters full of stuff, including filling a five-gallon bucket with used needles.

Portland Police Officer Jeff Myers brought the situation to our attention as it is both a public safety issue and Transportation Bureau property. This was a case where a picture was worth at least a thousand words. The area has since been cleaned up, but more action was clearly necessary.

The Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) is fencing off the caves and funding most of the project with additional financial assistance from the Police Bureau and adjacent business owners. Our business partners in this project are: CLD Pacific Grain, Glacier Northwest, Peter Corvallis Productions, Carlton Service, and Widmer Brothers Brewing Company.

Work is underway and will be completed by late February, 2008. It is an extensive area, difficult to access, and steep. So far about 150' of the 700' fence has been fabricated and installed. It is an engineering and construction challenge, so kudos to PDOT's Bill Clark and the City of Portland Bridge Crew doing the work. Union Pacific is helping to coordinate trains and workers while the construction goes on adjacent to the tracks. Commander Bret Smith, Lit. Bob Day, Officer Blaine Tyler, and Officer Jeff Myers have been working with us to move this project forward.

Installing the fence