Summer roadwork underway

LEABURG: Motorists this week have encountered an Oregon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) project says will create a smoother ride for drivers and reduce the cost of maintenance on Highway 126.

Crews have been busy this week installing signs in the work zone along the corridor. Next week, workers will focus on bridge repair work at Mileposts 22.6, 22.3 and 24. Crews will grind off the existing asphalt, make repairs and install protective surfaces to preserve each bridge.

ODOT expects to start paving by the end of June. Paving activities include grinding and removing the top layer of the road surface and replacing it with a new layer of asphalt. Also scheduled are some guardrail repairs and applying new striping once paving is completed.

During construction, people can expect work to happen during the day with delays of up to 20 minutes during a work schedule of Mondays - Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Fridays, from 9 a.m. to noon.

The construction zone will be controlled by a combination of flaggers, automated flagging devices, and pilot cars. The work is weather dependent and the schedule may change. Construction is estimated to be completed this year.

Tripcheck.com will have the most current information on traffic impacts.

Looking ahead, more road improvements are planned further upriver as well. That work - from Milepoint 13 to 19.8 of the Clear Lake Cutoff- is scheduled for 2024. ODOT says its McKenzie maintenance crew has had to apply patches more frequently to hold this section of the road together. The repair and preservation work there calls for removing the existing pavement and repaving it. Crews will also add new permanent striping to the entire project area and adjust or replace guardrails where needed.

“Doing the work now before the road gets worse is more cost-effective,” according to ODOT. “This section will need less frequent repairs by our maintenance crews. By preserving the road now, more costly repairs are not needed in the future.”Design work on the  $4,441,600  should happen during 2022-2024, with construction: scheduled for next summer.