Gravel Roads: FAQs

Marion County Public Works offers a number of ways to report a pothole or rough road.

• Call Public Works Dispatch at  (503) 588-5304;
• Web messaging:  http://www.co.marion.or.us/PW/Pages/Report-A-Concern.aspx; or,
• E-mail:  MCDPW@co.marion.or.us

Roads that do not have a hard surface are "unpaved" and most if not all of Marion County's unpaved roads are "gravel," meaning they are constructed and maintained with mineral aggregate or rock.

Re-smoothing the road generally takes place with re-grading with a motor grader.  The county's 200-miles of gravel roads are all on a maintenance schedule based on many factors including weather and time of year.

If you would like to know more about the county's gravel road system which includes descriptions of maintenance services and options, as well as our office contact information, please continue to review the links below in the "Gravel Roads: Issues & County Services Q&A".

At minimum of cost of $250,000 per mile, Marion County does not have an active program converting roads from gravel to hard surfaces.  Road funding is directed to maintain the existing County road system of 920 paved and 200 gravel miles, which also includes 140 bridges.

If you would like to know more of the County's gravel road system which includes description of maintenance services and options, please continue to review the links below in the "Gravel Roads: Issues & County Services Q&A".

The County does not directly address dust control, but does accommodates and aid property owners with obtaining dust control services which is further explained below in the "Gravel Roads: Issues & County Services Q&A," in the "Dry Season Dust Concerns" set of questions.

Oregon road funding generally comes fuel/ gas taxes, vehicle registration fees, and a small amount of Federal Highway Administration transportation improvement dollars.  Oregon and county property taxes are not spent on roads or road services.

Within Marion County's 1,120-mile road system, 200 of which are gravel, monies are spent for year-round maintenance services such as culvert cleaning, and seasonal repairs such as re-paving.

Over the years, pitting the higher costs of products and services against the need to keep the roads well maintain continues to a great challenge.  County managers constantly juggle costs, service levels and safety improvements, with the limited budgeted dollars.

With this large road system, we welcome and value your thoughts and input on how we might be able to do a better job of keeping our roads safe!

Many of the roads within Marion County are not maintained by the county.  These would include cities' roads, ODOT state highways, forest roads, and privately owned/ maintained roads.

A County Road is defined as "a public right-of-way that has been formally accepted by the County Commissioners as a County Road.  Marion County Public Works Department maintains all County Roads, but generally is prohibited from spending road funds on any road that is not an officially designated County Road."

See our web page label:  "Questions Regarding County Road Districts Maintenance" where there is a zoom-able map of the county road system:  http://www.co.marion.or.us/PW/Roads/Pages/districts.aspx

If you still cannot determine if your road is a county road, please phone our Public Works Dispatch for help at (503) 588-5304.