The Oregon Department of Transportation will use new pilot programs to increase worker safety during its summer repaving project on Interstate 5. (Oregon Department of Transportation Flickr)
The Oregon Department of Transportation has received more money to repave a 12.5-mile stretch of Interstate 5 between Salem and Woodburn after the original estimate was found to be unrealistic.
The money means freeway drivers this summer will face some delays as lanes are closed for work.
ODOT will oversee the repaving of six lanes as well as roadwork on six overpasses. The project is now estimated to cost $22.7 million, $9.7 million more than the department originally budgeted. Last week, the cost increase was approved by the Oregon Transportation Commission.
The project was originally budgeted for in 2015. Since then, construction costs have risen to add an additional $7.3 million to project costs, according to the department’s proposal. The price of asphalt mix has increased 58 percent and the department said it underestimated the amount of work on the project.
The work will likely start in early June with most of the paving done at night, said Lou Torres, department spokesman.
Workers can shut one lane down at 6 p.m. and a second at 9 p.m., depending on traffic. One lane will be reopened by 5 a.m. and the second lane reopened by 11 a.m. The project is expected to run about 90 days, and workers will only work on one direction of traffic at a time.
Torres said the department will mitigate traffic impacts. Many of the commuters are state workers traveling from the Portland area to Salem, so the hope is agencies will allow employees to flex their work schedules or work from home. Torres also suggested carpooling.
“The bottom line with this is there’s going to be delays, especially during the peak travel periods,” he said.
In the early mornings and evenings, Torres said, delays could be 20 to 30 minutes.
Under the new funding approval, the department has an additional $200,000 to hire an outside firm for a public awareness campaign to alert drivers of the lane closures.
Daily traffic on I-5 at Brooks averages 99,700.
The stretch was repaved 11 years ago and had a projected lifespan of nine to 11 years. Grooves formed in the lanes created a potentially dangerous environment for changing lanes or driving in heavy rain, according to the department.
Also added to the increased cost is additional safety measures for workers and public outreach to avoid congestion. The department is implementing several pilot programs on construction projects to make the work safer. On the I-5 project, that includes a wider buffer zone between workers and traffic, a temporary rumble strip and better notification to drivers of congestion areas. The improvements add a little more than $1 million to the cost.
Reporter Aubrey Wieber: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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