The Oregon Department of Transportation has finalized plans for a concrete
barrier stretching 2.3 miles on Hwy. 26 between Rhododendron and
Government Camp, now including one large gap near the runaway truck ramp
at milepost 50 to allow first responders to reach accidents on the other side of
the highway.

“The reason why we selected the truck ramp for the gap ... because that is
where the highway is the widest to allow for an emergency vehicle to turn
around,” said Kimberly Dinwiddie, ODOT Community Affairs Coordinator.

Dinwiddie added that other locations and a second gap were considered, but
the other areas of Highway 26 where the barrier will be built, “Map Curve”
(MP 49.4 to 50.1), between “Map Curve” and the Mirror Lake curve (MP 51.3
to 51.6), and the Mirror Lake curve (MP 51.6 to 52.2), have too many curves
and would not “be a good scenario” for travelers or responders.

Mic Eby, Fire Chief for the Hoodland Fire District, brought his concerns to
ODOT about the barrier preventing emergency responders from reaching a
scene earlier this year. He initially hoped for three gaps in the barrier, but
added that, “one gap is better than no gaps.”

“That’s probably the best spot,” Eby said of the finalized location. “If you do it
anywhere else, it’s going to be a curve or a blind area. That’s probably the
only spot that makes sense.”

A second smaller gap will be added at MP 50.7 big enough to allow for wildlife
to pass through. Dinwiddie added that emergency responders could utilize
that gap on foot.

Dinwiddie also noted ODOT still must determine where to put the rock that
will be removed for the entire project, which includes extending and building
passing lanes on the highway. She estimated “hundreds of thousands” of
cubic feet of rock will be removed from various rock faces, while a team is in
place to calculate the most effective strategy for where to transport it.

ODOT hopes to award the bid this December with construction starting as
soon as the snow melts in 2014. The barrier and gap will be added in the final
phases of the project, perhaps as late as 2017.

During the construction, travel lanes are expected to shift in different
configurations, with brief closures at times.

Dinwiddie added that in an online open house on the project, ODOT received
247 unique visitors, while other input was gathered through various social
media outlets. She noted much of the public supported the barrier as a
“reasonable way to deal with crossover crashes.”