Walkers, runners, and cyclists heading to Bald Hill now have a fresh stretch of asphalt.
It’s so smooth, you might even want to dig out your rollerblades and pretend it’s 1996 again. Having eight wheels and a skull-shaped rubber stopper is still cool in our book.
Benton County recently finished repaving the Midge Cramer Multi-Use Path, where trail users had previously raised concerns about deep cracks in the aging pavement.
(Photo: Midge Cramer Multi-Use Path/The Corvallis Inquirer)
“The current state of disrepair of the pavement, with wide and deep crevices, is a safety hazard to cyclists and pedestrians,” one respondent wrote in a Benton County transportation safety survey.
The path that runs a little short of a mile from the fairgrounds to Bald Hill Natural Area had been on Benton County’s list of repairs for years. Public Works initially set an October 2022 target for rehabilitating the Midge Cramer Path and the multi-use path between Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Ponderosa Avenue.
The Midge Cramer work appeared again in the county’s 2025–27 budget, this time with a target of October 31, 2026.
The county put the project out to bid on August 3rd. The plans called for rebuilding the pavement base in some sections and milling away the old surface in others before laying the new asphalt.
An agreement between the city and county for the resurfacing appeared on the Corvallis City Council’s October 19th consent agenda.
Neighboring landowner Jack Brandis worked with the city and the county to open a public route across his property in 1990. The county originally planned a rock-and-chip trail, then switched to pavement after receiving a state transportation grant in 1993.
The path is named for Midge Cramer, a local cycling advocate who taught bicycle touring at Oregon State.
Also, how bout’ them fall colors?
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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