K&E Excavating, the contractor for the Oregon Department of Transportation’s
(ODOT) “U.S. 26 Mt. Hood Highway Safety and Preservation Project,” hit a
milestone on Tuesday, May 24 when it set off the last blast on the Map Curve
section of the project. Map Curve required 14 total blasts, starting with the
first on April 28, 2015, which removed a total of approximately 44,000 cubic
yards of rock and dirt from the area.

“That was pretty huge for us to get that done,” said Kerry Kunzi the president
of K&E Excavating. “Pretty much right on schedule so far.”

Kimberly Dinwiddie, ODOT Community Affairs, noted that while blasting slopes
has concluded, there could still be more blasts this summer as part of the
RealTime travel information sign project.

“We want to thank everybody for their years of patience as we’ve endured
through the blasting,” Dinwiddie said.

Kunzi noted that work in June on the safety project, which will expand the
highway and add a 1.6-mile concrete median barrier to prevent crossover
accidents, will include building a retaining wall, digging out on the north side
of the highway to accommodate widening it and adding a guard rail. Travelers
can expect intermittent flagging and delays of up to 20 minutes.

“Traffic up here really seems to increase after Memorial Day,” Dinwiddie said.
“People should expect to see more congestion.”

Trucks carrying dirt and vegetation up Lolo Pass Road will be “very sporadic”
now, according to Kunzi, while trucks are still expected to bring rock to the
Tamarack site.

K&E will also crush rock at the Laurel pit site off Kiwanis Camp Road to use for
asphalt and road base for the project. Kunzi estimated that approximately
50,000 yards of rock will be crushed and reused.

Both Kunzi and Dinwiddie stressed that while the project is nearing completion
and is expected to be done this fall, all travelers should continue to drive
safely through the work zone.

“We want everybody to go home safe,” Kunzi said.

For more information, please visit us26mthoodsafety.org and tripcheck.com.