ODOT vows to fix traffic snag

LEABURG: A road construction project designed to improve Hwy. 126 had the opposite impact on motorists when work began last week in Leaburg. The problem centered on long delays that some motorists reported had them parked in place for as long as an hour and 45 minutes.

“We are working with the contractor to figure out what caused the delays and how to avoid them,” according to David House, the Oregon Dept. of Transportation’s Region 2 communications officer. “We have no way to count vehicles in a traffic backup, but we know the issue was with the 0.75-mile work zone between Leaburg and Vida.”

House said that the agency was working with the contractor “for a solution to longer-than-expected delays in OR 126 repaving work,” adding that, “we apologize for the long delays as you travel through the work zone from Leaburg to Vida.”

Work on the project is scheduled for from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Mondays through Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to noon on Fridays. ODOT officials say no work is anticipated during the week of July 4th.

ODOT also said the section between Leaburg and Vida is a particularly long work zone because it includes repaving the approaches to three bridges.