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June 9, 2017 - updated
West End Curve
The first blast of the year is scheduled for
Friday afternoon, June 9, 2 p.m.
(correcting previously sent date of June 7)
What to Expect
Travelers in the area should expect a 20 minute hold on traffic
in both directions.
If you are nearby, you’ll hear a loud “bang”, but these aren’t
huge blasts. If all goes as planned, very little debris will need to be cleaned
from the existing roadway and travelers will be back on schedule quickly.
Up to five blasts will be needed this month to complete the
roadway. These were originally scheduled to occur last October, but had to be
rescheduled because of weather. We will share information on the blast
times when possible. All construction activities are weather dependent and
may change with conditions.
Status
The west end curve is the last half mile of roadway to be built
for the U.S. 20 Pioneer Mountain – Eddyville Project and is scheduled to
be completed in September. The curve in the existing roadway is being
straightened by moving the roadway away from the river.
The main portion of the project, a 5.5 mile new alignment, opened on October
11, 2016. This new roadway replaces a ten mile segment of the original
1917-built U.S. 20 that has narrow lanes and sharp curves. The original roadway
is now called Crystal Creek Loop and can be accessed at Eddyville and near the
west end curve.
Work is scheduled to be completed by September 22, 2017 (except
for seeding, planting, and punch list).
- Work will be done 6 days a week, 12 to 13-hours per
day, during the day. This could change if there are weather or other
delays.
- On June 1, about two weeks of 24 hour flagging will
begin. Most delays will be 10 minutes or less, but there may be some
delays up to 20 minutes for random occurrences.
- 20 minute traffic holds for blasting, in both
directions. About five blasts are still needed on the project.
Blasting is to start the first or second week of June, with one or two a
week planned.
- After 24-hour flagging ends, flaggers will be stopping
traffic during the day with one-lane closures. Mostly short holds but
occasional holds up to 20-minutes.
- One or two weeks of lane closure and flagging on
Crystal Creek Loop.
- About one week of 24-hour flagging around the end of
August or early September.
- Additional flagging and pilot car work will be needed
to pave and stripe in mid-September.
U.S. 20: Clem Road (Burnt Woods) –
Philomath Paving
Expect traffic to be restricted to one lane with 24 hour
flagging near the Mary River Noon and Marys River Bridges in the next two
weeks. Each bridge will be worked on for a week. After this work is
done, around June 19, the remainder of work will take place at night between 7
p.m. and 6 a.m., Sunday through Thursday nights.
From now through June 19 expect delays of up to 20 minutes both
at night and during the day. After June 19, expect delays of up to 20 minutes
from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights.
U.S. 20: Clem Road (Burnt Woods) – Cline
Mountain (Eddyville) Paving
Paving began today (June 8) and will be completed by June 30.
All work will be done during the day, 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Travelers
should expect lane closures and delays up to 20 minutes.
Background
Construction season is underway and this summer travelers on
U.S. 20 will see the completion of the west end curve of the Pioneer
Mountain-Eddyville Project and two separate but nearby paving projects. Expect
some 20 minute delays during day and night work. No long or overnight
closures are scheduled. There will be no closures during holidays or
around the eclipse (Monday, August 21).
Because of the variety of project needs, it is likely that
travelers will encounter more than one traffic delay due to work on the west
end curve and the two paving projects. However, traveler needs have been taken
into consideration and changes in coordination between the projects will be
made if needed.
 For updates
Construction information and related travel impacts will be
available on TripCheck.com, Twitter, and
the project webpages. The Oregon Department of Transportation will have a new
website in late June, and so links to project pages will be changing at that
time.
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