ODOT will stop most planned highway work over Memorial Day holiday weekend
May 25, 2022
Contact: Don Hamilton, 503-704-7452
ODOT will shut down most scheduled highway closures in the Portland area over the Memorial Day weekend as travelers hit the road for the first of the summer holiday weekends.
Regularly scheduled project work will stop in the Portland area at noon Friday and won’t start up again until no earlier than 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. We will respond as needed, of course, to emergencies.
In addition, some rockfall work will cause delays on Saturday along OR 224, which re-opened May 1 after the Labor Day 2020 wildfires. All other recovery work in the Clackamas River Corridor will be shut down through the Memorial Day weekend.
The U.S. Forest Service Hole in the Wall and Moore Creek boat access day sites and Big Eddy day use sites are open but all other Forest Service recreation facilities in the corridor remain closed including Roads 46 and 57.
Expect a busy holiday weekend on Oregon roads. AAA Oregon predicts that 530,000 Oregonians will travel over the Memorial Day weekend, Thursday, May 26 through Monday, May 30, an increase over the more hesitant pandemic travel patterns of 2021.
Here are some tips for making sure you have a safe trip on the road.
-
Check your route on Tripcheck.com. We’ve added more cameras showing road conditions and more real travel times. Construction work may come to a stop over the Memorial Day weekend but you may still see equipment staged at the side of the road for when it’s time to start up again.
-
Be careful! Last year in Oregon, cars were the number one source of summer wildfires. Do your part to prevent them. If you have to pull off the road, stay on hard surfaces and avoid dry grass. Never toss a lit cigarette or any burning materials from you vehicle. We all need to help stop wildfires.
-
Rules of the Road. Know what to expect. The Move Over Law says you must move to another lane if an emergency vehicle is on the side of the road with lights flashing. If you can’t change lanes, slow down. ODOT Incident Responders are on the road to respond to incidents with other first responder partners. Brush up on the rules of the road in the 2022-2023 Oregon Driver Manual.
-
Driving electric? Look for upgraded charging stations on Interstates 5 and 84 and U.S. 101. Some of these chargers are part of the West Coast Electric Highway and now have upgraded plug types that can connect to more EV models. Oregon has about 2,100 public EV charging stations and we’re about to get a lot more along major roads, courtesy of ODOT’s pledge of $100 million for EV charging infrastructure.
-
Be Prepared. Make sure your vehicle is in good working order before you head out. Check your coolant, hoses and tires. Have emergency supplies in your vehicle. Food, water, extra medications, a first aid kit, a paper road map, phone charger, jumper cables, a safety vest and a flashlight all may come in handy as you travel.
Know before you go and have a safe trip wherever you go and however you choose to get there.
For pictures illustrating our various activities around the state, visit our flickr page.
|
