Two Road Washouts on N. Oregon Coast Could Drastically Affect Traffic, Agencies Scramble to Fix

Published 12/07/23 a 7:25 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Tillamook, Oregon) – Two small roads on the Oregon coast are shut down this week after major rains hit the area, both of which can create some sizable traffic headaches for visitors and locals if the wrong combination of closures occur. (Miami-Foley Road, courtesy TCPW)

Both are in Tillamook County, and they're sending Tillamook County Public Works (TCPW) into a bit of a scramble to fix them quickly.

Miami Foley Road is closed at MP 8.8 after water washed out a section of road this week, cutting off a major route for many locals to get between Garibaldi and Mohler. On the Three Capes Loop, a bend between Tierra Del Mar and Pacific City fell apart Wednesday, creating a somewhat lengthy detour around McPhillips Drive / Sandlake Road onto Highway 101.

While Miami Foley Road is a small one and doesn't usually affect visitor traffic to the north Oregon coast county, it could create a major issue if the road between Cannon Beach and Garibaldi gets shut off for any reason, creating more than two hours of a commute.

Break in the road above Tierra Del Mar (TCPW)

TCPW officials told KOIN-TV they are working to create a new bridge on that road in a hurry, and are currently aiming for December 21. Highway 101 between Manzanita and Cannon Beach can get cut off at least once during the winter season of any given year.

The agency told KOIN-TV that commuters would then be forced to head up Highway 6 and Highway 26 and utilize the long route between them, or drive all the way back to Portland for the detour. Miami Foley Road is the only backup in many of these cases.

Contractors have already mobilized to the site on Thursday.

The road between Pacific City and Tierra Del Mar was closed completely Wednesday after a portion fell away during heavy rains. The break is at what is known as Sandlake Road, immediately north of where the name changes to that from McPhillips Drive.

How the spot normally looks (Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

The current detour means utilizing Highway 101 instead of the Three Capes Loop to get to the two communities from either the north or the south. At this time, there is not yet an estimate on reopening.

"Geotechnical engineers are looking at it tomorrow [Friday] to determine solutions," said Nan Devlin, executive director of Tillamook Coast Visitors Association.

She also told Oregon Coast Beach Connection a lot of that break is on Oregon State Parks property.

All this comes not long after the last portion of the Three Capes Loop near Cape Meares was finally reopened last month after a ten-year closure. Cape Meares Loop Rd. Reopens, N. Oregon Coast's Three Capes is 'Loop' Again After 10 Years 

Both roads are county roads and do not appear on the State of Oregon's TripCheck.com.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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Keywords: Oregon coast, weather, Pacific City, Oceanside, Tillamook, Garibaldi, Rockaway Beach, Nehalem, Manzanita, roads