The first of two major bridge improvement projects starts April 10
The Oregon Department of Transportation will host an open house about two upcoming bridge improvement projects from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, at The Grove, 1195 E. Main St., Ashland, ODOT officials reported.
That open house will also be offered as a virtual event at https://odotopenhouse.org/openhouse/or66-and-east-main-street-ashland-bridges for those who cannot attend in person.
The $3.5 million in bridge rehabilitation projects, set to kick off April 10, concern the East Main Street Bridge and the OR 66 Ashland Street bridge deck over the railroad overpass, according to an ODOT bulletin.
“​These two relatively close bridges in Ashland are in need of a structural deck overlay,” the bulletin reads. “Each bridge will be repaired the same way. Poor and separated (delaminated) concrete will be repaired and the entire deck will receive a new concrete overlay.​”
Community concerns over wildfire danger and evacuation routes prompted the agency to set schedule so bridges can be rehabilitated one at a time, the agency said.
The first project will concern the East Main Street Bridge over the Interstate 5 overpass, which will be closed to all traffic for about five weeks while road crews rehabilitate the deck surface and provide a new wearing surface.
Motorists will be detoured onto Highway 66/Ashland Street to Tolman Creek Road during the closure. The bridge, originally built in 1962, is expected to reopen in May.
Crews will then switch to the OR 66 Ashland Street bridge, built in 1974. Traffic will run in a single lane in each direction during that work, expected to wrap up in August after about 10 weeks.
