The final blast of the season was expected to take place on the evening of
Monday, Oct. 26, for Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) “U.S. 26
Mt. Hood Highway Safety and Preservation Project.” The blast, the second-
largest one so far during the project according to Kimberly Dinwiddie with
ODOT Community Affairs, was expected to bring down approximately 8,000
yards of material.

Following the blasts, crews were to spend several days clearing rocks from the
side of the road before pavement repairs can take place in early November.
“As everybody who’s driven up there have seen, the rocks being blasted off
the slope have banged up the pavement,” Dinwiddie said.

Dinwiddie added that a “handful” of blasts are expected for 2016 after work
on the project, which will expand the highway and add a 1.6-mile concrete
median barrier to prevent crossover accidents, resumes in the spring.

K&E Excavating, the contractor in charge of the project, restriped the lanes to
the east of the runaway truck ramp in October, returning them to their
original configuration. Dinwiddie noted the only work expected to be done
along that part of the highway this year is installing rock bolts for stabilization
and reducing rock falls.

That work will require lane closures, but “nothing major,” Dinwiddie added,
while all lanes are expected to be open on nights and weekends.
Work will also be stopped for the Thanksgiving weekend, beginning at noon on
Wednesday, Nov. 25, and lasting until Monday, Nov. 30.

Dinwiddie noted that the “ideal” time for the project to wrap up will be early
December, but they will definitely wrap up by the middle of the month. “When
you’re working on rock slopes, you can have all the best laid plans ... things
change and you need to adapt to that,” she said.

Dinwiddie added that the newly exposed slopes on the sides of the highway
may change and shift during the winter months, with rocks and mud
appearing to come down. This is natural, she noted, as rock will expand and
contract with temperature changes, particularly in the winter.

Dinwiddie noted that the slopes will be monitored during the coming months
and that an erosion plan is in place to make sure material does not go where
it shouldn’t, including area creeks.

“It could look alarming, but that’s just what naturally happens after you blast
slopes,” Dinwiddie said.

She added that catchment areas should prevent anything that comes down
from the slopes from impacting the highway.

The project’s website, us26mthoodsafety.org, is updated weekly or as needed,
while motorists can also visit tripcheck.com for the latest traffic information.