Three crosses now mark the intersection of Oregon Highway 126 and Huston Road in Veneta: two memorializing those killed in a 2021 crash, and one for Dakota Gilbert, a 22-year-old pedestrian killed by a hit and run driver over Labor Day Weekend.
Locals have long said the area is dangerous. The intersection is scheduled for a significant safety overhaul. But troubles with federal funding may shrink the project, and push back construction at least a year.
Oregon Department of Transportation data shows 14 other crashes at that intersection between 2014 and 2023. In more than half of those collisions, people sustained injuries.
Veneta City Administrator Matt Michel says the intersection is a local access point. He said some improvements have been made, but that stretch of highway is still unsafe.
"This issue has been on the local community's mind into last century,” Michel said. “The constant is 126. It's a major thoroughfare between the Valley and the Coast."
Funding for the 126 overhaul, as well as several other Oregon infrastructure projects, were put on hold at the beginning of the year by the Trump administration.
At the time, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he was prioritizing funds for states with high birth and marriage rates. Oregon has one of the lowest birth rates in the nation. At the time, ODOT also said the Trump Administration also took issue with other Oregon laws and policies unrelated to transportation.
ODOT spokesperson Kacey Davey said the Federal Highway Administration informed the agency last month that funding would be restored and the two agencies are now working through final approvals.
The project was also scheduled to get started in 2026 or early 2027. Davey said work likely won’t be able to begin until 2028. ODOT said the delays likely mean the original $30 million won’t go as far, and the agency may need to scale down its plans.
Michel said the delay is disappointing, but he said he appreciated the community’s support for improvements on 126, and ODOT’s diligence pursuing funds for the project.
“Based on their track record, I feel [ODOT] will be good partners in figuring out what’s the best value engineered solution for this project, when, not if, they get it started,” he said.
The total project included roundabouts, widened lanes, a safer railroad crossing and public transportation improvements.
That plan came after a 2013 traffic study of the area, and years of outreach to the local community.
ODOT will keep the core safety features of the project, Davey said, but the agency does not yet have specifics on what could potentially change. She said ODOT will reach out to Veneta residents as it adjusts its plans.
According to Oregon State Police, law enforcement is still searching the driver suspected of hitting Dakota Gilbert on Aug. 31. The person is believed to have been driving a 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox.
According to a GoFundMe created to help his family with funeral expenses, Gilbert had recently become a father. His friends and family knew him as “Scruffy.”
