Hwy. 97 bridge replacement project to bring delays

The Oregon Department of Transportation advised travelers Monday to expect delays on U.S. Highway 97 near Willowdale this week as part of a project to replace two bridges and seismically retrofit six others in coming weeks.

Stellar J. Construction crews, under contract by ODOT, will be placing beams for the replacement of Trout Creek Bridge, requiring consecutive 20-minute delays. The majority of delays are anticipated for Wednesday.

After Labor Day, travelers can expect to see temporary signals at both the Spanish Hollow and Trout Creek bridges, which will reduce traffic down to one lane.

The project will replace the existing Spanish Hollow Creek Bridge, located a half-mile south of Biggs Junction, and the Trout Creek Bridge, 17 miles north of Madras, with new seismically resilient bridges.

Additional work will be done to seismically retrofit six other bridges over Spanish Hollow Creek near Biggs Junction. Crews will also extend the southbound acceleration lane of Highway 97 97 from the US 30/US 97 intersection at the Biggs Junction interchange to match into the Highway 97 climbing lane a half mile south of the interchange.​

The $15 million project is essential to assist with traffic mobility in the case of a major seismic event, ODOT officials said. Oregon State Police will be enforcing the work zone for the duration of the project. The project is scheduled to be complete by the fall of 2019.