 In January 2023, the Arizona Landslide closed U.S. Highway 101 about 12 miles south of Port Orford for several days. This week, prime contractor Condon-Johnson & Associates will begin Phase 2 of replacing the damaged drainage system, which involves building a deep shaft west of the highway near the access (bottom left) that will serve as a giant catch basin. The top of the old shaft can be seen left of center in this January 2023 photo. The old shaft was destroyed in the landslide.
Construction begins next week on Arizona Landslide project south of Port Orford
April 8, 2025
PORT ORFORD – Work begins next week on the second phase of a project aimed at stabilizing a landslide area along U.S. Highway 101 on the southern Oregon coast.
In January 2023, the Arizona Landslide closed the highway about 12 miles south of Port Orford for several days. Over the following year, contractors for ODOT installed a network of drains and pipes uphill from the highway.
The next phase of construction will build a vertical shaft, measuring about 20 feet in diameter and 200 feet deep, which will serve as a large catch basin for the new drainage system.
Portland-based contractor Condon-Johnson & Associates plans to move equipment to the work zone in the next few days and break ground next week. Construction for the project’s second phase is estimated to cost $18.3 million, and all work is scheduled to be completed by October 2026.
Most work will take place off the highway, but drivers should watch for workers along the shoulder and construction vehicles entering and exiting the travel lanes.
The landslide area, which is a half mile north of the Arizona Beach Recreation Area, has been a problem since the highway opened in the 1920s. Large landslides closed the highway in 1938, 1954, 1978 and 1993, and smaller slides have required frequent lane closures and emergency repairs.
In the mid-1990s, a series of drains, including drainage shafts, were installed in the hillside to remove water and reduce ground movement. Those drains became less effective over time, and the 2023 landslide sheared the vertical drainage shaft located on the downhill side of the highway.
U.S. 101 is a lifeline route for those living along the southern Oregon coast. When the highway is closed at the Arizona Landslide, drivers traveling between Port Orford and Gold Beach must detour five hours and 280-miles along Oregon 42, Interstate 5 and U.S. 199.
For more information, contact ODOT Public Information Officer Dan Latham at 541-817-5200 or Dan.Latham@odot.oregon.gov.
## ODOT ##
|
