ODOT NEWS RELEASE -- Rolling slowdowns will continue south of Cottage Grove for six weeks

Jan. 14, 2016

R3-06-16

 

ODOT NEWS RELEASE

Rolling slowdowns will continue south of Cottage Grove for six weeks

Tree clearing and blasting will cause delays of about 20 minutes

 

DRAIN -- Motorists should expect weekday rolling slowdowns to continue on Interstate 5 between Cottage Grove and Rice Hill through the end of February.

 

Most delays will be less than 20 minutes. Motorists are advised to give themselves extra time to reach their destinations.

 

Rolling slowdowns use pilot cars to slow interstate traffic to about 30 mph for the 10 miles leading up to the work zone. The slowdowns are needed for tree-clearing operations and blasting as workers prepare to excavate a new southbound auxiliary/climbing lane on the hill south of Exit 162 (Drain/Oregon 38 junction).

 

Tree-clearing began earlier this week and will continue through next week. During this phase, southbound rolling slowdowns are used throughout the day to give workers about 15 minutes to cut trees and clean up debris when there are no cars in the adjacent travel lanes. Some delays have exceeded 20 minutes.

 

“Sometimes trees shatter when they hit the ground and take longer to clean up,” ODOT Project Manager Ted Paselk said. “When this happens, the pilot cars leading the rolling slowdowns will drop below 30 mph and the delays can get a little longer than we would like.”

 

Only a handful of trees can be cut during each slowdown and a few hundred need to be removed prior to excavating the hillside. As a result, about 20-30 rolling slowdowns have been taking place each weekday, two to three an hour.

 

“The tree-cutting has a higher impact simply because we need so many slowdowns to get the job done,” Paselk said. “If you’re driving I-5 south of Drain the next week, you’ll probably see a slowdown.”

 

Fewer delays for blasting

 

The tree-cutting operations are expected to be completed by Friday, Jan. 22. Prime contractor K&E Excavating will then begin blasting operations, which will require rolling slowdowns in both directions for about five weeks. But since they will only blast once or twice a day, there will be fewer rolling slowdowns and less impact to traffic.

 

“Once we complete the tree-cutting next week, traffic should move better through the work zone,” Paselk said. “This project will impact traffic for 18 months, but we’re doing everything we can to keep those impacts to a minimum.”

 

In addition to constructing a southbound auxiliary/climbing lane at milepost 161, the I-5 Anlauf to Elkhead Road Paving project will resurface eight miles of interstate highway with concrete between milepost 154 and 162. Construction is scheduled for completion in summer 2017.

 

Project updates will be provided to the public. To receive updates, send an email to Dan.Latham@odot.state.or.us (subject line: “Anlauf-Elkhead Road”).

 

##ODOT##

 

For more information:

 

Dan Latham

ODOT Public Affairs

541-957-3601

Dan.Latham@odot.state.or.us

 

Project website: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION3/Pages/Anlauf-Elkhead.aspx