Striping work Saturday means Hwy. 26 delays
Travelers will see delays on U.S. 26 west of Government Camp Saturday as a contractor restripes the highway’s two westbound lanes.
The delays will take place between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. and travelers could encounter 20-minute delays as flaggers direct traffic. The work by the contactor K&E Excavating will restore the roadway to its lane configuration before construction began on the U.S. 26 Mt. Hood Safety Project in July 2014 .
The striping work had been scheduled for late October but was postponed because of wet weather. With the forecast calling for dry skies, the work is now scheduled for Saturday . This work is weather dependent and will be scheduled if wet weather arrives Saturday .
Crews are working to complete the project before the full arrival of winter weather, which creates hazardous travel conditions, especially at higher elevations.
Travelers should use patience and caution when in the work zone during the re-striping work.
During the week of Monday , Nov. 3 through Friday , Nov. 7, the contractor will work in the shoulders continuing to clean up for the winter shutdown.
Work on the U.S. 26 Mt. Hood Safety Project will resume on April 1 , 2015. The contractor will begin the construction season by performing rock blasting on the slope west of the runaway truck ramp.
Background
Construction of safety improvements to prevent severe and fatal crashes on U.S. 26 from east of Kiwanis Camp Road to east of the Mirror Lake Curves and to preserve the highway to Oregon Highway 35 is underway on Mt. Hood. Work on the nearly eight mile stretch of U.S. 26 includes:
Paving between Silent Rock and OR 35 Placing a barrier between the east and westbound lanes along at 1.6 mile of U.S. 26 from east of the runaway truck escape ramp and the Mirror Lake Curves Cutting back the slope along a 600 foot section at Map Curve, west of the runaway truckescapto provide a 27 foot wide ditch for rocks to land away from the road Cutting back the rock slope east of the runaway truck ramp to east of the Mirror Lake trailhead Highway widening to install a median barrier Construction of a retaining wall to reduce impacts to existing trails from highway widening work Extending the westbound passing lanes for a total of about 1,400 feet
Work will occur in 2014, 2015 and 2016 from April 1 – October 31 . To learn more visit: www.US26MtHoodSafety.org
