Oregon Highway 242 rehab starts next Monday
Post-Milli Fire repairs to state Highway 242 (the Old McKenzie Highway) across the Cascades are expected to begin Monday, the Oregon Department of Transportation said Thursday.
Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance crews will be stabilizing slopes and improving drainage along the winding, scenic highway, thanks to an $850,000 reimbursement from the Federal Highway Administration after last year’s devastating Milli Fire.
The more than 24,000-acre Milli Fire was active in and around the Three Sisters Wilderness Area that adjoins the highway, destroying trees, culverts and patches of the highway surface.
Working west from the eastern entrance near Sisters toward a point near the summit, crews will work to stabilize hillsides and culverts as time and other area maintenance priorities permit. The work will occur between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays.
ODOT said motorists interested in driving the highway should be aware that there will be delays up to 20 minutes in either direction as the workers tackle the job, which is expected to last until snow closes the highway for the winter. Please watch out for work crews and travel slowly through the area, and check www.tripcheck.com for 24/7 road and weather conditions.
