|
In this email:
One direction of OR 217 closed nightly between Greenburg Road and OR 99W during a two-week period.
Starting Wednesday night, Sept. 18, plan for directional closures of OR 217 between Greenburg Road and OR 99W for multiple nights. These will be in place nightly between Sept. 18 and Sept. 28. The lanes will fully reopen for daytime traffic.
During these nighttime directional closures, crews will install the horizontal steel beams that will support the future sidewalks and travel lanes on the new Hall Boulevard overpass in Tigard. We only close major sections of highways when it’s absolutely necessary and in this case the closures are critical to keep the traveling public and our crews safe as the 27-ton beams are lowered and secured into place over the highway lanes. The overpass is being rebuilt with wider footings to make room for the new auxiliary lanes beneath it.
Here’s what you need to know:
-
All southbound lanes on OR 217 from Greenburg Road to OR 99W will fully close overnight:
- Overnight on Sept. 18, 19, 20, 27, 28 between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night (reopening by 6 a.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays).
- All southbound drivers will exit OR 217 at the Greenburg Road off-ramp.
- On-ramps leading up to the closure area will also close from Hall Boulevard, Scholls Ferry Road, and Greenburg Road.
- There may also be single lane closures in the opposite direction while the beams are being set.
-
All northbound lanes of OR 217 from OR 99W to Greenburg Road will fully close overnight:
- Overnight on Sept 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. each night (reopening by 6 a.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays).
- All northbound drivers will exit at the OR 99W off-ramp.
- On-ramps leading up to the closure area will also close from 72nd Avenue and OR 99W.
- There may also be single lane closures in the opposite direction while the beams are being set.
 One direction of OR 217 at a time will close for several nights Sept. 18-28.
Plan ahead and use alternate routes depending on your final destination. Overnight OR 217 traffic should consider avoiding the highway by following the signed detour using I-5 to the south of the closure area, I-405 through Portland and U.S. 26 to the north of the closure area. Please remember to drive safely and follow the posted speed limit while traveling on alternate routes.
Check tripcheck.com before you leave for up-to-date traffic impacts on detour routes. This work is weather dependent and may be postponed or extended due to high winds and other factors.
Our crews continue rebuilding the Hall Boulevard overpass. Back in March, we started the process by first demolishing the old structure. After demolition, crews focused on excavating the sections of earth on both sides of the highway to make room for the new auxiliary lanes and to build the retaining walls that will safely hold the earth in place.
To ensure the retaining walls can adequately hold this weight, crews installed a combination of vertical support pilings deep into the ground and horizontal steel anchors into the slopes behind the walls. From there, crews built the framing for the wall faces, installed rebar reinforcements, and poured specialized concrete mixes. The foundations for the overpass on either side of the highway were also completed with the installation of steel pilings and support walls.
 Installing rebar and pouring concrete for the new walls and abutments at the Hall Boulevard overpass in Tigard.
 The new retaining walls include vertical supports and horizontal anchors.
This summer, we started work in the highway median on the vertical supports that will hold up the middle of the new overpass. This involved drilling four, six-foot diameter shafts over 60 feet into the ground and then constructing reinforced concrete columns and caps.
Up next, we’ll install the steel girders, or horizontal support beams, over the highway which requires us to close one direction of the highway at a time for several nights. See the beginning of this email for more information about these upcoming closures.
After the support beams are in place, crews will pour the concrete bridge deck that will carry travelers. We’ll finish up by adding sidewalks, railings, and impact panels before opening the new overpass to traffic.
 Lowering in a rebar cage for one of the overpass shafts in the highway median.
Throughout this work, the temporary bike and pedestrian bridge is getting good use as a crossing point and connecting neighborhoods on either side of OR 217 with an added bonus of a convenient viewpoint for construction enthusiasts. We appreciate the ongoing patience of neighbors and travelers through this area and ask drivers to continue adhering to the signed detour route and posted speed limits. This is a complex bridge and we’re looking forward to completing work here in the next few months and reopening this connection across OR 217.
Later this month, expect one weekend of closures of several on- and off-ramps to and from southbound OR 217 for paving. The two through lanes on the highway would remain open during this time allowing for regional traffic to continue traveling through the area. This work is highly dependent on many factors, including weather. We will provide more information about timing and location as soon as possible.
The OR 217 Auxiliary Lanes Project will construct auxiliary lanes in both directions of OR 217 between Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and OR 99W. Auxiliary lanes are ramp-to-ramp connections on the highway that help reduce congestion by giving drivers more space and time to merge safely. This decreases conflicts, improves safety and the flow of traffic, and ultimately allows the existing lanes to work more efficiently. We expect up to 73,000 hours of travel time saved each year with these improvements.
We aren't just making improvements to the highway itself. We also need to make the area surrounding OR 217 safer for all users. In partnership with the City of Beaverton and Washington County, we are making targeted improvements to local bicycle and pedestrian routes.
Learn more about this project and stay up-to-date with current traffic impacts by visiting the project website.
|
