The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) was expected to break out
temporary road signs and electronic reader boards in late June to prepare
drivers for the upcoming construction project between Rhododendron and
Government Camp.

The project, “U.S. 26 Mt. Hood Highway Safety and Preservation Project,”
includes adding a 1.6-mile median barrier from east of the runaway truck
ramp to east of the Mirror Lake trailhead, cutting back rock faces and
widening the highway.

Tim Smith, ODOT assistant project manager, expects work to begin in earnest
after the July 4 holiday weekend, including mobilization of equipment and
restriping the upper mile and one-half of the construction zone, which will be
reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction.

On Tuesday, June 24, representatives from ODOT held an open house at The
Resort at The Mountain to talk with local residents about their concerns.

Kenney Nilsen, the Property Manager for Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp, noted the
proximity of the camp to the construction zone, which begins just east of
Kiwanis Camp Road, is a concern on a number of levels, including traffic
delays and when explosives are used for rock removal. The camp offers
various programming, including summer camps for disabled people and
rentals in the fall, and has a number of horses.

“We might honestly be the most affected,” Nilsen said, estimating part of
Highway 26 that will see construction to be as close as a third of a mile from
some camp facilities.

Delays are expected to take up to 20 minutes any time the contractor is
working and up to one hour when blasting occurs, which will be between
5:30-7:30 p.m. on up to three days per week from Monday through Thursday.
The highway will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Kiwanis
Camp Road and just east of the Mirror Lake Curves, however construction will
only take place between April and October of each year through 2016, and the
highway will reopen with all lanes from November through March.

Nilsen added that ODOT has been good in keeping the camp informed about
the project and it’s impacts on the highway and surrounding area.

“I think they’ve done as much as could have been expected,” he said.

“Hopefully it saves some lives and makes it a little bit more accessible, in
which case, ultimately it probably helps us, too.”

The concrete median barrier was another area of concern for Mountain
residents, including Pat Buckley, who noted how emergency responses to
accidents in the westbound lane could require responders to drive past the
scene in the eastbound lane to turn around at the east end of the barrier
(original plans for the project included a longer barrier with a gap to allow
emergency vehicles to pass through).

“If I was in the accident, and I was hurt, I could just wave at the fire
department as they go by,” Buckley said. “That’s not a good option.”

Kimberley Dinwiddie, ODOT Community Affairs, noted the current area with
the barrier is in a narrow stretch of the highway with curves, making it
difficult to add a gap as emergency responders would not have good visuals
for oncoming traffic.

John Larson, a retired ODOT employee who spent 28 years working winters in
Government Camp, expressed his concerns about how snow removal will work
after the median barrier is installed. He noted from experience how snow can
melt during the day and then freeze at night, causing a layer of ice on the
highway and the barrier will likely prevent the complete removal of snow in
the winter.

“I’m just not sure how that snow removal is going to go with that barrier;
time will tell,” Larson said. “I’ve never seen them design it where they can
beat Mother Nature.”

The first stage of work on the project, awarded to K&E Excavating out of
Salem in May after a second round of bids, will include removal of trees from
the tops of slopes, followed by excavation of the overburden (looser soil on
top of the rock layer) and followed by blasting the solid rock.

The downed trees will be used by the Zigzag Ranger District for stream
restoration projects and Supervisory Fish Biologist Greg Wanner expects more
than 500 trees between 12 to 18 inches in diameter to be used on Still Creek
this summer.

Dinwiddie noted ODOT’s traffic website, tripcheck.com, will be updated every
Friday during the construction schedule to include days that will include
blasting and the longer delays.

“It’s not a perfect system, but we’re just asking that people are prepared for
those 20-minute delays,” she said.

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