Since 1946, NW Cornelius Pass Road crossed Rock Creek on a bridge built for the traffic of that era. It sat about 0.7 mile north of NW Germantown Road, roughly three miles up from the US 26 junction north of Hillsboro. That bridge is gone now. In its place is a single span with two travel lanes and wide shoulders, and it reopened to traffic on the evening of Friday, October 9, 2026.
If you use Cornelius Pass as your shortcut over the hills to US 30, the reopening is the news you've been waiting for. It also finishes a job the state started five years ago. Cornelius Pass Road has been a state highway, OR 127, since 2021. The Rock Creek crossing was the one piece of the Washington County stretch that stayed out of that handoff until it could be rebuilt for the trucks the road was already carrying.
Twelve Weeks Between Germantown and Kaiser
The full closure ran from July 15 to October 9, 2026, on the segment between Germantown Road and Kaiser Road. When the Hillsboro News-Times reported the closure in mid-July, the end date was September 29. Washington County later moved it to October 9, and the road opened that evening as scheduled.
That adds up to about 12 weeks of detours, roughly ten days longer than first planned. The Washington County project page lists the cost at $6.5 million. It also said to expect intermittent lane closures through the end of October while crews finished seeding, planting and final pavement markings. By publish day that finishing window has passed.
The Detour Map Shows Who Uses This Road
The quickest way to see why the old bridge had to go is to look at the detours the county published. Each type of traveler got a different route:
| Who was traveling | Detour during the closure |
|---|---|
| Cyclists | Old Cornelius Pass Road |
| Cars and light trucks | Germantown Road and Kaiser Road |
| Trucks | US 26 to I-405 to US 30 |
| Trucks with hazardous cargo | OR 217 to I-5 to US 30 |
Trucks carrying hazardous materials can't use the Vista Ridge Tunnel on US 26, so Cornelius Pass is one of their routes between the westside and US 30. Take this road away and those trucks have to swing south and east through OR 217 and I-5 just to reach the same highway.
That freight traffic is the problem the county named when it explained the project. The old bridge was still functional, but it was "constructed much narrower than what today's traffic requires" and was not designed for modern, heavier trucks. The new span is built to carry heavy trucks and cargo.
Freight wasn't the only traffic that felt the closure. Columbia River Fire & Rescue warned that alternate routes could add at least 20 minutes to ambulance trips to the Kaiser Westside Medical Center emergency department. According to the Hillsboro News-Times, the agency said crews might recommend other emergency departments for patients seeking care at Kaiser Westside:
"to ensure timely patient care and maintain emergency response capabilities throughout the district."
So the two-lane road you take to Sauvie Island or north Portland also carries freight, hazardous cargo and ambulances. That explains why the state wanted it.
The Last Step of a Handoff That Started in 2021
On March 1, 2021, ODOT took over Cornelius Pass Road between US 30 and US 26 from Multnomah and Washington counties and designated it OR 127, the Cornelius Pass Highway. ODOT described the transfer as directed by the legislature under HB 2017, the Keep Oregon Moving package. South of US 26, the road stayed under Washington County, as KATU reported on transfer day.
The Washington County transfer agreement includes a detail most drivers never saw. It covers the segment from the county line to US 26, milepoints 4.09 to 7.84, but the Rock Creek bridge itself was to pass to ODOT only after the replacement was finished. The county's 2026 release says the same thing: once the bridge is complete, ODOT takes over all future maintenance.
For more than five years, then, a state highway has run over a 1946 county bridge. The new span closes that gap. The road signed OR 127 is about to be a state road from end to end of the Washington County stretch, bridge included.
The state's work on the corridor hasn't stopped with the bridge. After the 2021 transfer, ODOT said it planned to repave between Skyline Boulevard and US 30 and add safety technology along the route. By February 2023, the Hillsboro News-Times reported, ODOT had completed repaving, curve-warning signs, new signal controllers, vehicle detection, cameras and weather sensors.
One More Project Is Working Nights Through November
The bridge closure overlapped with a second, separate ODOT project, and that one is still wrapping up. The Cornelius Pass Hwy & U.S. 30 ITS project is upgrading lighting, signal equipment, signs and intelligent transportation system devices along Highway 127 between US 26 and US 30.
ODOT's published schedule runs in stages:
- Late July to late September 2026: work on US 30.
- September to November 2026: work on Cornelius Pass near US 26, once the US 30 stage was done.
- Through November 2026: minor work along the corridor, with completion estimated in November.
The part that matters for drivers is when the work happens. ODOT says signal work at Skyline Boulevard and the lighting work need single-lane closures, run overnight from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. with flaggers. A new variable message sign on US 26 is going in behind the sidewalk and isn't expected to disrupt traffic.
If you mostly drive the pass by day, you may never see a flagger. If you come home late from St. Johns or Scappoose, plan on a possible single-lane stretch until ODOT closes the project out this month.
Checking the Pass Before a Winter Drive
The ITS work is technology, and some of that technology is already useful to you. TripCheck lists two OR 127 cameras labeled "Cornelius Pass at MP3.08." By the milepoints in the transfer agreement, that's on the Multnomah County side, north of where the Washington County segment starts at 4.09. TripCheck also lists a road-weather station at Cornelius Pass that reports temperature, dew point, humidity and wind.
ODOT's 2026–27 winter travel guide says Oregon law requires drivers to carry chains or traction tires in designated snow zones when snow is possible, even on trips where they don't end up needing them. That's general information and not legal advice, so check ODOT's guidance for the route you're driving. For the pass itself, the TripCheck cameras and the Cornelius Pass weather station are the quickest way to see conditions before you leave Hillsboro.
Changes to roads like Cornelius Pass affect daily routines here, from the late drive home on US 30 to how far it feels to get from Hillsboro to the river. If you're weighing how a route like OR 127 fits your own commute or a future move on the north side of Hillsboro, Robyn Schamberger is glad to talk it through with local, practical context. Let's Connect.
