A surprise archaeological discovery beneath downtown The Dalles has turned a major street overhaul into an even bigger bill, with construction paused and the city now paying nearly $147,000 more to investigate what crews found.
The First Street Streetscape project was already reshaping the downtown corridor with new roads, sidewalks, utilities and pedestrian features. Now, a previously unidentified feature connected to Native American history has become the project’s most expensive underground complication.
City Council Approves Another $146,955 For Archaeology
At its meeting last Monday, The Dalles City Council approved a fifth amendment to the project’s archaeological services agreement and added $146,955 for recovery work, according to Columbia Gorge News. The move pushed the streetscape project’s total cost to nearly $6 million, with archaeology accounting for about 14% of the overall price tag.
The extra work will be handled by Archaeological Investigations Northwest, which is responsible for digging, processing, cataloging and analyzing recovered material before it is curated and documented. Councilors approved the amendment unanimously, while pressing staff and contractors to keep the work limited to what state requirements demand.
Why The Discovery Triggered A Legal Stop
Oregon requires an archaeological permit for excavation or collection on nonfederal public land, according to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The state’s cultural-resources guidance also recognizes historic bottles, refuse and other material tied to past human activity as potential archaeological evidence, while the Oregon Department of State Lands says archaeological sites on city property are protected under state law.
That legal framework explains why crews could not simply work around the find and keep pouring concrete. The city had to stop excavation, coordinate with the State Historic Preservation Office and complete the required recovery process before construction can resume in the affected area.
Shells Were The First Sign Something Was Buried Downtown
Earlier reporting from March described crews uncovering shells near First and Court streets, prompting archaeologists to pause digging while they determined whether the material was part of a shell midden or historic fill, according to Columbia Community Connection. The city said much of First Street had been raised with imported fill during downtown development, meaning different layers of the past may be sitting beneath the modern roadway.
The later council discussion described the discovery as an archaeological feature in the corridor between Washington and Court streets, beneath and around a planned retaining wall. Contractors covered the area with steel plates and built protective walls, while archaeologists and engineers concluded the wall could be shifted only inches before its structural integrity was threatened.
Archaeologists have intentionally kept the feature’s exact nature and location vague because the site could be vulnerable to illegal digging, Columbia Gorge News reported. Officials say more information may be released after the retaining wall and backfill are in place and the area is physically protected.
A Bigger Downtown Project Now Facing A More Complicated Finish
The archaeology bill arrives as the broader streetscape project is already bringing extended closures and construction disruptions to downtown. The project’s construction contract was valued at roughly $4.07 million before the added archaeological work, and substantial completion had been anticipated later this year, according to Columbia Community Connection.
Archaeological Investigations Northwest has obtained an updated permit from the state and is coordinating with contractor Ajax Northwest on a return to work once the recovery requirements are met. City councilors also asked staff to run unaffected portions of the project in parallel so one buried slice of The Dalles does not hold up every visible improvement above it.
The Discovery Fits The Dalles’ Deep Indigenous History
The find is not occurring in an ordinary patch of downtown dirt. The Oregon Encyclopedia describes The Dalles as a place where Native people gathered along the Columbia River for more than 10,000 years and identifies the surrounding area as one of the Pacific Northwest’s most significant archaeological regions.
For the city, that history now comes with a practical obligation: preserve what can be learned, protect the site from looting and still get First Street rebuilt. The result is a streetscape project that is costing more, moving more cautiously and forcing The Dalles to reckon with what was beneath the pavement all along.
