EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The state is going to reduce herbicide spraying along Oregon Highway 36 in the Coast Range to help minimize the impact on fish and the environment.
The Oregon Department of Transportation says the pilot project to reduce chemical use along Highway 36 will cover 52 miles between Junction City and Mapleton.
Instead of spraying, maintenance workers will mow the highway shoulders.
Road crews will continue to use herbicides along guard rails and bridge approaches and in areas too steep or with turns too tight for mowing.
The pilot project has already drawn praise from the Oregon Toxics Alliance, a Eugene-based nonprofit group that has worked with transportation officials for the past two years to reduce herbicide use.
