Road Route Plan Aired

I-505 Project Due In 1971

Preliminary design hearings on I-505. the Northwest Portland freeway which will connect the Fremont Bridge to Helens Road, will begin in early 1971, residents of the area were told Thursday night.

J.H. Versteed, construction engineer for the State Highway Department's metropolitan division, said construction should get under way in 1973 and the freeway is scheduled for completion by 1976.

Versteeg said the multiple-use plan for the freeway project must be approved by the city council, state administrative officials and federal authorities.

Underground Route Planned

If the project is completed according to the city's recommendations, it would run below ground level between NW Thurman and Vaughn Streets providing a buffer between the heavy industrial area to the north and the predominantly residential neighborhood to the south.

''When you look at this plan there is a lot of green space," said Versteeg. "I don't know if we can follow all of the recommendations. Maybe HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) or city funds could be obtained for assistance.

"Our first consideration is to move vehicles. Frankly, I don't know if we can implement the plan at all."

He said as long as the freeway handled traffic properly, he could see no reason for the state to argue about the design.

Benefits Provided

Gene St. Clair, state district relocation officer assured the residents that the state provides adequate benefits to move both residents and businesses.

The state is obligated to find housing replacements as close to the area as possible, he added, and federal regulations require that replacements be decent safe and sanitary.

Residents at the meeting were represented by Northwest District Development Association, an organization concerned with preserving the area's amenities as a residential neighborhood.