Delayed, expanded China Hat Road rebuild project begins Monday, road to be closed or limited; detour available

(Update: Details of project's Phase 2 extension; adding summary page, map)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes National Forest announced Tuesday that it will close and begin reconstruction of about six miles of Forest Service Road 18, also known as China Hat Road, south of Bend next Monday, an expanded project expected to conclude by November.

The project, originally announced to involve 3 1/2 miles of the road, was slated to begin in late July but was delayed due to high fire danger and the related shutdown of all industrial operations on the forest. It also has prompted safety concerns among homeless people living in the area about safe access in the event of emergencies.

Areas on both sides of FSR 18 will be inaccessible to vehicle traffic for the duration of the project while work is completed between the forest boundary and the Coyote Butte area, officials said Tuesday.

Phase 1 of the project includes the first 3.5 miles from the forest boundary south to Forest Service Road 1815 (Horse Butte Road). Funding has now been allocated for Phase 2, which includes an additional 2.5 mile-segment between Forest Service Road 1815 (Horse Butte Road) to approximately the Coyote Butte area, officials told NewsChannel 21 Tuesday evening. 

Both lanes of traffic will be closed while work is completed between the forest boundary and FSR 1810 (Bessie Butte Road) to provide for public safety. One lane of traffic will remain open with traffic control in place while work is completed on FSR 18 between the junctions of FSR 1810 (Bessie Butte Road) and the Coyote Butte area.

Forest Service Road 1815 (Horse Butte Road) can be used to detour around the reconstruction to access FSR 1810 (Bessie Butte Road) and FSR 18 East.

"The condition of FSR 18 is deteriorating rapidly," the announcement said. "This reconstruction project will improve driving safety. Forest Service Road 18 is a high-use road which provides primary access to public lands for recreation, resource management, and wildfire response.

"Additionally, FSR 18 is the primary access road and timber haul route for thinning, mowing and mastication, and prescribed burning operations within the 25,804-acre Cabin Butte Vegetation Management Project south of Bend."

Reconstruction will include removing the existing asphalt. Where applicable, the aggregate base will be replaced, and a cement-treated base will be applied on top of the aggregate. The surface will then be repaved. Road shoulders, ditches, and culverts will also be re-established.

The Forest Service, in its February announcement of the project, said that "removal of camps is not expected to be needed to complete this work," and those in the camps would be notified well in advance.

That is still the case, officials told us Tuesday evening.

But they added; "As the implementation of mechanical fuels reduction and prescribed fire continues in the Cabin Butte Project area, camps will likely need to be relocated to allow for that work to occur over the next several years. The Deschutes National Forest will work with partners and communicate the timing and location of that work so that the fuels reduction work can be fully completed in the area." 

For more information about the reconstruction project, contact the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District at (541) 383-5300.