I-84 @ U.S. 97 Interchange Project Update - Girder placement scheduled next week

Oregon Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 03/06/2014 11:40 AM PST

For those of you who live or travel through the Biggs Junction area, you may have noticed that construction activity has ramped up over the last few weeks. Pile driving is now complete for Stage I Bridge Work, and after today both abutments on the bridges will be poured. We are scheduled to place girders for the freeway bridge the night of March 11^th, and then the Union Pacific RR bridge the night of March 13^th.

During the placement of girders flagging will be used to control traffic within the interchange ramps and Highway 97. Traffic on the freeway will be controlled with “Rolling Slowdowns” to allow enough time for the contractor to set the girders. A rolling slowdown consists of two pilot cars travelling in each direction of the freeway. They drive at 30 mph providing enough delay, usually 5-15 minutes, to allow the contractor to work over the freeway. The rolling slowdowns start 10-20 miles away from the project in order to develop enough time between the last car driving 60 mph and the pilot cars.

Once the girders are set on the two bridges the contractor will begin forming up the concrete bridge deck which should be poured sometime in April.

In conjunction with the bridge work, excavation of the hillside along US 97 is now in full swing. The material generated from this cut bank is being used to construct the new eastbound freeway on and off ramps. The new ramp construction is scheduled to be completed around the same time the Stage I bridge work is completed in spring 2014.

Over the next few months impacts to the travelling public will vary. We will be shifting ramp configurations to facilitate our work and to create access to some of the restricted areas. It is still our intent to minimize delays and only perform flagging when absolutely necessary.

If you have any questions regarding the construction or upcoming activities please feel free to email or contact us at one of the numbers below.

Thanks,

Rober Townsend, Assistant Project Manager, ODOT

Robert.L.TOWNSEND@odot.state.or.us 541-296-2800

Rex Holloway, Community Relations Rep., ODOT

Rex.A.Holloway@odot.state.or.us 541-388-6178

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