Highway 97 potholes at Chemult prompt emergency repairs

Given the severe damage that winter weather has caused to U.S. Highway 97 in the Chemult area, the Oregon Department of Transportation said Friday it is planning an emergency repair project.

Winter’s freeze-thaw cycle has been especially severe near Chemult, which at 4,764 feet has some of the coldest weather in Oregon, officials said.

As water freezes and warms, the effect is to break up the highway surface, compounded by truck and other vehicle traffic.

“ODOT has been putting all available local resources onto this problem day and night to patch the potholes by hand with traditional winter methods, but could not keep up with the damage to the highway,” the agency said in a news release.

“Our plan is to take advantage of an improvement in the weather and put all our regional resources into fixing the potholes, including using a different mix of asphalt,” said Pat Creedican, ODOT’s district manager for the Chemult area.

“We’ve inspected the pothole problem there, and decided that the best course of action is to make these temporary improvements now and then perform a major repaving project in the spring,” Creedican added.

The work is set to begin Monday and will affect motorists driving through the area. ODOT crews will continue to work in the area until the emergency repairs are complete. Motorists will be directed around the work site by flaggers.