In August, crews lowered steel girders into place over the Hess Creek swale for a 670-foot footbridge, just below the deck of the Newberg-Dundee Bypass. It's built for people on foot and on bikes, and it carries a 12-foot-wide path. It crosses a floodplain that Newsberg reported has made walking east to west through that part of Newberg nearly impossible.
The trail has "Dundee" in its name. The first phase, due to finish in the next several weeks, does something closer to home. It links the Highway 219 side of town to the Willamette River at Rogers Landing. Getting from Newberg to Dundee depends on a second bridge that has no funding yet. Seen that way, Phase I is a south Newberg river trail, and that's how this post treats it.
The route, from 99W to the river
The Chehalem Parks and Recreation District, known as CPRD, broke ground on Phase I this spring. Newsberg's July report traces the full corridor from the north end.
- Providence Drive and OR 99W. The route starts in north Newberg and heads down Werth Boulevard, past PCC Newberg Center toward Chehalem Glenn Golf Course.
- East Fernwood Road to South Springbrook Road. It turns west on Fernwood, then south on Springbrook. This whole section uses sidewalks that are already there.
- Springbrook and OR 219 to Industrial Parkway. The route goes west along Industrial Parkway to what is now a gated access point.
- The new path. From the gate, 7,300 feet of new 12-foot-wide trail runs west. About 5,200 feet of it is separated from vehicles, and it ends at the South River Street and East 14th Street intersection by Rogers Landing.
Only the fourth leg is new construction. Newsberg says it ties into about 9,800 feet of existing sidewalks and bike lanes east of Highway 219, making one corridor of more than three miles. CPRD describes the new segment as about 1.5 miles between Highway 219 and River Street. The two figures come out close, since 7,300 feet is just under a mile and a half.
Why the bridge is the piece that matters
Newberg already had the sidewalks along Fernwood and Springbrook. What it lacked was a way across the Hess Creek floodplain that didn't involve a car. The footbridge is what fills that gap, and it's where the district made one money decision early. CPRD board president Jim McMaster told Newsberg the district bought the bridge steel "two or three years ago" so it wouldn't have to pay later prices.
The funding traces back to May 2021. That's when the Oregon Transportation Commission awarded CPRD $1,820,140 from ODOT's Oregon Community Paths program, with a required local match of $780,060. Part of the match came from the City of Newberg, which agreed to cut its fees and permit charges for the project by 50 percent. Getting permits took most of the time in between. CPRD needed approvals from the Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Environmental Quality, the city and ODOT, and it received the last of them on Jan. 21, 2026.
Once work started, it moved fast. Newsberg's timeline shows erosion control finished in mid-April and excavation starting April 24. Rock base was in by May 26, and a crane arrived June 1 to drive pilings, working close enough to the Newberg Airport that CPRD coordinated temporary runway closures with the airpark's owners. Emery and Sons is the contractor.
What "early December" means right now
The most recent public schedule is from July. CPRD assistant superintendent Casey Creighton told Newsberg that completion was "anticipated for November or early December 2026," and later in the same piece said construction was expected to "wrap up by early December." A photo caption in the same story says CPRD staff expected the trail to be usable in December. CPRD's Aug. 26 bridge update doesn't give a completion date. Treat early December as a target, and watch CPRD's trail page for an actual opening date.
Newberg has just seen how the last step can hold a project up. The six pickleball courts at Jaquith Park opened Oct. 12, after players had waited more than a year to use them. Newsberg reported that the city required sound panels before the courts could open, and that requirement was part of a delay of several months. The Newberg Pickleball Club now plays there Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8 to 10:30. The bypass trail has its own complication. It's being built alongside ODOT's Phase 2A project, a Wildish Construction contract that is rebuilding the Highway 219 and Highway 18 interchange.
That road work will continue after the trail opens. As of its Sept. 30 update, ODOT's Phase 2A project page lists single-lane nighttime closures from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., a 35-mph work-zone speed limit on OR 219, and completion expected by 2027. ODOT's third-quarter report narrows that to October 2027. So anyone starting at the Springbrook end this winter will be walking or riding next to an active highway work zone for most of the next year.
Where Phase I stops
The new path ends at River Street and 14th. That's the right spot for reaching the river, but it leaves a gap for getting downtown. McMaster's description of the finished system, as quoted by Newsberg, is broader than what Phase I delivers:
"You'll be able to go from Fred Meyer to the heart of the city to Dundee if you want."
The "heart of the city" part runs along River Street. The city's Oct. 7 pre-design memo describes River Street between 3rd and 11th as the link between downtown, the South Newberg neighborhood, Rogers Landing and the Mill Site. It also finds the corridor's sidewalks and curb ramps in poor condition and says it has no dedicated bike lanes. The preferred plan, Alternative 4, keeps the current road width and adds raised bike lanes on both sides. City Council adopted the ad hoc committee's recommendations on Sept. 21, 2026. That's a design decision. It doesn't come with a construction date.
Dundee is further off still.
| Segment | What it covers | Status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Phase I | 7,300 feet from Industrial Parkway to S. River St. and E. 14th, including the 670-foot Hess Creek bridge | Under construction; completion targeted for November or early December 2026 |
| River Street connection | River Street from 3rd to 11th, toward downtown | Pre-design; Alternative 4 recommended |
| Phase II | River Street to SE 8th Street in Dundee via an 800-foot Chehalem Creek bridge | Estimated at $3.8 million; funding unresolved |
According to Newsberg, Phase II would bring the trail into Dundee near Dundee Elementary School. Its 2023 grant application was not selected, and McMaster summed up where things stand: "We just have to find the money." CPRD has applied for a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All planning grant, which could help it make the case for Phase II construction money.
The far end is Rogers Landing
That makes Rogers Landing the main destination this winter. The county park sits on the Willamette's "Newberg Pool," and its entrance is at River and 14th, right where the new path ends. Yamhill County lists a three-lane boat launch and "expansive parking," and it mentions walking the docks at sunset and watching for blue herons, ospreys, kingfishers and migrating geese.
What to know before you go:
- Hours: County park rules don't allow anyone in parks between dusk and dawn without approval, so in December it closes early in the evening.
- Fees: The county fee schedule lists $3 per boat launch for motorized and non-motorized boats, plus a $30 annual pass. It doesn't list a separate day-use fee for Rogers Landing. You pay the launch fee at the self-pay station by the ramp and display the permit on your windshield.
- Water access: As of Oct. 21, the Oregon State Marine Board lists the launch and dock as open, and it directs paddlers to the beach at the end of the access road.
- Trail parking: The county's park page doesn't name a trailhead lot or a parking rule for trail users. The fee on the books applies to boat launches.
The park itself may change too. CPRD's Riverfront Reimagined study is looking at Rogers Landing, along with the district's Highway 219 river property, as possible spots for more accessible, non-motorized river access. At its July 15, 2026 meeting, the county parks advisory board was told a final report for Rogers Landing was expected in September. Newsberg has described the effort as feasibility and site planning, not a commitment to build a dock or ramp.
If you live near the trail and want to know how it, the River Street plans, or the Dundee phase could affect your home's value or your next move, I'm happy to talk through it with you. Shey Gladstone follows projects like this across Yamhill County so you hear about them before they become listing talking points. Let's Connect.
