Earlier this month, a portion of roadway collapsed-- 12 miles north of Florence. Traffic continues to be limited to one lane with delays of up to 20 minutes. Today (Monday), The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) began installing a traffic signal to replace a pilot car and get vehicles through quicker.
Highway 101 along the Oregon Coastal Range is known as “landslide country.” The road collapse happened when water pressure built up in an existing active slide. The sunken roadway has led to weeks of traffic holdups as contractors stabilize and repave the segment.
Rick Little is with ODOT. He says a traffic signal will reduce the wait to 3 to 6 minutes.
“The stretch that we have a single lane of traffic in is about 500 feet long. And the good news is that in this location, you can stand at one signal and look down at the other signal and see it clearly so there’s no obstruction to the site distance.”
Little expects the repairs to take another month. With so much rainfall along the coast, ODOT regularly patrols the highway watching for tell-tale signs of slide activity.