Motorists traveling on Hwy. 26 during upcoming construction can expect
delays of up to an hour during times when rock faces are “blasted” as part of
the Oregon Department of Transportation’s “U.S. 26 Mt. Hood Highway Safety
and Preservation Project. "

Work on the project, including widening the highway to install a concrete
barrier in a 2.8-mile section (Milepost 49.4 to 52.2 including Mirror Lake
Curve) for increased safety, is expected to begin in April 2014 and take at
least three years.

Wayne Statler, ODOT Construction Manager, noted the blasting will take place
three days a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays, and
workers will only blast during evening hours.

Blasting is expected to take place during daylight, but after the periods of
highest traffic volume, likely around 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. during the
summer and a little earlier during the fall.

“ODOT recognizes that it’s going to be an inconvenience to the public up
there,” Statler said. “If we had some other way to do it, we would. We think
we’ve got a good plan here; when we get done with it, we think the highway
is going to be a lot safer than it is now.”

There will be no construction at all on Sundays or on holidays, according to
Statler, and work on the project will only take place between April and
October in each year. The highway will be fully open during the winter
months.

Motorists can also expect shorter closures of up to 20 minutes when workers
need to remove trees, but Statler added that after any closure during the
project, all traffic must clear out before another closure can occur.

“There’s no bypass up there,” Statler said. “If you’re on 26, where else are
you going to go? We’re trying to accommodate the public so that if you get
caught in a delay, you’re not going to get caught again.”

The highway will also be limited to one lane of traffic in each direction during
the blasting phase of construction (at least the first two years), and Statler
added there will be times when only one lane of traffic in one direction is
permitted to pass through at a time. Trails near the construction area,
including the Pioneer Bridle Trail, are also expected to be closed during
blasting times.

Approximately one million cubic yards of dirt, rocks and other materials are
expected to be removed as part of the project.

The material will be transported to a number of sites around the mountain,
including two pits off Lolo Pass Road, Laurel pit off Kiwanis Camp Road, the
Tamarack quarry on Mount Hood and ODOT property at the intersection of
Highways 26 and 35. All other sites are on US Forest Service property.

ODOT expects to advertise the project for contractors beginning Friday, Oct.
18. Bids will be opened on Thursday, Nov. 21 and ODOT will award the
contract by the end of the year.

Representatives from ODOT, including Statler, are expected to discuss the
project at the September meeting of the Mt. Hood Area Chamber of
Commerce at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, at the Mt. Hood Village Fireside Room,
65000 Hwy. 26 in Welches.

Community Affairs Director Kimberly Dinwiddie added that there will be an
online open house on ODOT’s website sometime in October, while ODOT
expects to survey neighbors, businesses and other stakeholders in the area
about how best to disseminate information on the project.

“We want to know what kind of info is important to them and how they want
to receive it,” Dinwiddie said.