EVACUATION SIGNS POINT THE WAY OUT

Published: November 22, 2005

By Karen Hutchinson-Talaski
Staff writer

A blue sign on West 11th
Street indicates which
direction to head in the event
of a chemical emergency at the
Umatilla Chemical Depot.
Herald photo by Karen Hutchinson-Talaski

HERMISTON — In the event of a chemical emergency at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, motorists will know how to evacuate the Hermiston area, thanks to new evacuation route signs, variable message signs and drop arm barricades along the evacuation route.

The evacuation project, which the Morrow County Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) formulated, cost $2,188,927, money that came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The plan is to have motorists, in the event of an emergency, directed out of town via Highway 730 east; Diagonal Road to Highway 730; Feedville Road to Highway 37; Highway 395 south to Stanfield; and Highway 207 south. The route will take Hermiston residents to the Wildhorse Casino, while Irrigon residents will be funneled to Heppner, Boardman residents will be sent to Arlington and Plymouth, and Paterson, Wash. residents will be sent to Kennewick and Prosser, Wash.

"The public is still being asked to shelter-in-place, which is the safest option," said Maureen Roxbury, public information officer for CSEPP. "For motorists, the evacuation route will take them out of town."

The evacuation plan was developed to handle the influx of people during the Umatilla County Fair, the three horse sales in Hermiston, or any other event where many people would be in Hermiston and have no place to shelter-in-place. Roxbury says 55 variable message signs have been installed along main highways and freeways in the area, nearly all of the 85 stationary evacuation signs have been put it, and 16 drop arm barriers will be installed in the next month.

Drop arm barriers will be located at the intersections of Interstate 84 and Highway 730, on the Highway 730 and Diagonal Road intersection, 10th Street and Diagonal Road, and at the I84 and Boardman, I-84 and Westlund Road, I-84 and Highway 207 and I-84 and Highway 395 interchanges. The drop arm barriers are to keep people from driving on any of the roads that will take them towards possible exposure of chemical agent.

Cameras installed at 14 intersections will assist First Responders in determining traffic flows and any problems that might occur during an evacuation. The camera installed at Elm Street and Highway 395 has already helped the police determine the cause of an automobile accident, Roxbury said. Traffic signals have been replaced along Highway 395 through the heart of Hermiston. Those signals are interconnected and can be controlled by First Responders at the Bob Shannon Safety Center in Hermiston to allow free flowing traffic in case of an emergency.

The lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and Rita have shown CSEPP that a uni-directional traffic flow will get people out of harm's way more quickly.

"We are benefiting from those lessons learned," Roxbury said.

CSEPP intends to test the system with the signal interconnects sometime in November.