Highway 126 safety overhaul at high-collision Veneta intersection faces delay after federal funding issue

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