Aufderheide Drive is open

COUGAR RESERVOIR: Crews that have been busy on a road connecting the public to popular recreation sites have hung up their tools for the season. Due to weather, according to the Willamette National Forest, construction work on Forest Service Road (FS) 19 was paused and the road is now open to through travel between the McKenzie River Valley to Westfir.

This summer, contractors removed and upgraded 1,100 feet of guardrail, repaired approximately 35 road failures (road fill slopes and pothole repairs), repaired the bridge approaches at the Frissell Crossing Bridge, and completed 8 miles of asphalt surface slurry sealing.

Officials report that work that remains to be completed this Spring will include 3.5 miles of asphalt overlay for surface repair and another 18.5 miles of centerline striping along the 60 miles of road that connects the McKenzie area to Oakridge and Westfir.

The route is not maintained during the winter, generally from November until April.

The road repairs were possible thanks to funding from the Great American Outdoors Act and Disaster Recovery funds.