LA GRANDE, Ore. – Warmer weather and longer days mean it is time for highway upgrades across the state. The Oregon Department of Transportation is constructing over three-dozen key highway projects this year in eastern Oregon to fix pavement, sidewalks and bridges to make the highways safer and extend the life of the transportation system. Below is a list of these activities within the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway route, along with anticipated traffic impacts. Please remember to watch for crews, equipment and flaggers, and to be prepared to slow down or stop when you see those orange cones and construction signs.

Distracted or inattentive driving and speed remain primary causes of crashes, so please put cell phones and other distractions away, and ease up on the gas. Although traffic volumes are down from last summer due to the pandemic, there have been recent incidents of speeding on highways and in work zones. We want you and our crews to all get home safely at the end of the day. Please! Stay safe, watch out for crews and equipment, and realize it might take a little longer to reach your destination. (You can take the time to enjoy our amazing scenery.) Traffic fines double in all work zones.

Additional updates will be shared throughout the construction season. For more information on key projects visit www.tinyurl.com/odot-region5 or contact Tom Strandberg at 541-963-1330 thomas.m.strandberg@odot.state.or.us .

Union / Wallowa / Baker County Area

I-84 Old Oregon Trail Highway – Safety and paving improvements between La Grande and Ladd Canyon. Add third truck lane for eastbound Ladd Canyon traffic, milepost 270-273. Reduced speeds, lane closures, nighttime paving and minor delays. Bicycle/pedestrian detours around Ladd Canyon work zone due to no shoulders. Work is ongoing. Completion: November 2020. www.tinyurl.com/odot-region5

I-84 Old Oregon Trail Highway – Multiple safety enhancements between Pendleton and La Grande including new variable message boards, road sensors/cameras, lighting, curve signs, and more, milepost 214-260. Reduced speeds, three-mile long lane closures on Cabbage Hill (MP 223-220) due to curves and steep grade, minor delays, plus intermittent shoulder/lane closures at other work sites. Completion: November 2020. www.tinyurl.com/odot-region5

OR 3 Enterprise-Lewiston Highway– Chip seal from Buford Grade to Enterprise, milepost 5-43. Lane closures, reduced speeds, day/nighttime flaggers, pilot cars, loose rock on the roadway, delays up to 20 minutes. Work starts this summer and will take about three weeks. Completion: September 2020.

OR 82 Wallowa Lake Highway – Sidewalk ADA ramp upgrades at various intersections in downtown Imbler between Hull Lane and Brooks Road, milepost 11.98-12.45. Sidewalk closures, pedestrian detours and possible minor delays for motorists. Work starts later this summer. Completion: November 2021.

OR 82 Wallowa Lake Highway – Sidewalk ADA ramp upgrades at various intersections in downtown Elgin between Hemlock Avenue and Third Avenue, milepost 19.6-20.56. Sidewalk closures, pedestrian detours and possible minor delays for motorists. Work starts later this summer. Completion: November 2021.

OR 82 Wallowa Lake Highway – Improve safety by realigning hairpin corner at Minam Curve, two miles west of Minam, milepost 30. Lane closures, flaggers, pilot cars, delays up to 20 minutes. Work is ongoing. Completion: August 2020. www.tinyurl.com/odot-region5

OR 82 Wallowa Lake Highway– Chip seal from Minam to railroad crossing, milepost 33.7-41. Lane closures, reduced speeds, day/nighttime flaggers, pilot cars, loose rock on the roadway, delays up to 20 minutes. Work starts this summer and will take about three weeks. Completion: August 2020.

OR 82 Wallowa Lake Highway– Pavement patching from Spring Creek at east of Wallowa to the Wallowa River east of Lostine, milepost 49.4-60. Lane closures, flaggers, delays up to 20 minutes. Work starts this summer and will take several weeks. Completion: October 2020.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For up to date traffic condition information, please visit TripCheck.com. Road condition information is also available by phone by dialing 5-1-1, or (800) 977-6368. Outside of Oregon, travelers can call (503) 588-2941.

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is reminding travelers to plan ahead and be prepared for highway work zones as the summer construction season gears up. Motorists should watch for construction crews and equipment and be prepared to slow down and pay extra attention when they see orange cones, flaggers and/or construction signs. Distracted drivers are a primary cause of work zone crashes. A listing of major state highway projects in the eastern Oregon area and anticipated traffic impacts is posted on the ODOT Region 5 website at www.tinyurl.com/ODOT-region5.

One project that may impact some byway country travelers is just west of La Grande on Interstate 84. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) contractor Oregon Mainline shifted westbound traffic to the eastbound freeway and closed two freeway ramps in mid-April to accommodate the multi-year highway improvement project between the Kamela Interchange at Exit 246 and the Second Street undercrossing in La Grande, near mile post 260. Most of the traffic impacts are between Hilgard State Park near mile post 252 and Exit 261 in La Grande where the freeway is being resurfaced with concrete in the slow lane and new asphalt in the fast lane.

On this section, travelers can expect traffic pattern changes, reduced speeds, narrow lanes with no shoulders, plus single lane eastbound and westbound traffic separated by concrete barrier. The westbound Exit 259 on-ramp at the west end of La Grande will be closed through the 2014 construction season. The westbound on-ramp at Exit 256 (west of Perry) will also be closed for about three months starting Monday.

ODOT advises that one easily avoidable traffic mishap involves running out of fuel and becoming stranded in a work zone that has no shoulder space for emergency parking. This occurred three times in April along the seven-mile Interstate 84 work zone between Hilgard State Park near mile post 252 and La Grande at mile post 260. Road resurfacing has the freeway limited to one eastbound and one westbound lane separated by concrete barrier, with no shoulders. In all three cases, trucks ran out of diesel in the work zone, completely blocking traffic until fuel could be delivered. All drivers are reminded to fuel up before heading towards this and other highway construction zones.

For more information about this or other ODOT highway projects in eastern Oregon contact Public Information Officer Tom Strandberg at 541-963-1330, Thomas.m.strandberg@odot.state.or.us, or visit the ODOT website at www.tinyurl.com/odot-region5. For statewide road conditions, check www.TripCheck.com.