PORTLAND, Oregon — On any given day, the eastbound ramp from U.S. Highway 30 eastbound to Interstate 405 northbound carries nearly 25,000 cars and trucks to the lower deck of the Fremont Bridge. The road surface is riddled with cracks and potholes and the expansion joints need some major repairs.
That work started Friday night at 8 p.m. It's an 18-day, around-the-clock closure that will hopefully wrap up in time for whatever morning commute we have on Monday, May 4.
Freeway volumes have been cut in half in recent weeks with stay at home orders in place. While most of us shelter ourselves from the COVID-19 outbreak, major infrastructure projects are still a-go.
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"Contractors are following all necessary social distancing procedures," said ODOT's Don Hamilton. This work of course was scheduled long ago. It's part of a major ramp rehabilitation project on I-405. There are additional freeway and ramp lane closures scheduled periodically; you can follow all the details on ODOT's project website. Below is the map of the detour route.
The detour will take drivers on a loop around the city, south onto I-405 to the Marquam Bridge, where drivers will then follow signs to rejoin I-5 N. This will add about five miles to the trip, but with light traffic volumes, it should only increase the drive time by about five or six minutes.