| Oregon 217 Modernization Project |
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| Project Summary: |
The OR 217 Modernization project will add a third northbound lane on OR 217 from TV Highway to Sunset Highway. Construction began March 2009 and will be completed December 2011.
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Latest information:
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There is no blasting scheduled in the current schedule, but more will occur and will be announced here once it's scheduled.
Blasting is required on the project to fracture and remove a layer of rock in order to build the new highway lane and retaining walls. Once blasting starts - only permitted between 11 p.m. and midnight - it will continue for about a year several nights a month on OR 217 northbound between Walker Rd. and Park Way.
Each blast will actually be a series of blasts just milliseconds apart, lasting a few seconds total, 1 per night. The blasts are designed to minimize sound and vibration. Residents in the immediate area of the blast may experience minor vibration and/or noise, including multiple warning sirens prior to each blast. Blasting is weather dependent and will be rescheduled in the event of heavy rainfall.
Read the weekly construction news for current traffic impact information, updated every Friday.
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| Project Information |
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Emery & Sons Construction, Inc., a contractor for the Oregon Department of Transportation, began work in March on the OR 217 Modernization project. The total project cost is $42 million with $35.5 million designated for construction. The project will take place on OR 217 from TV Highway to U.S. 26 (Sunset Highway) and will include the following elements:
- Adding a third northbound through lane on OR 217 from the TV Highway on-ramp to the Sunset Highway
- Building retaining walls and improving drainage on OR 217
- Paving and striping the project area and all the OR 217/U.S. 26 interchange ramps
- Lengthening the Wilshire Street overpass to accommodate the wider highway
- Improving visibility and safety on the Wilshire Street off-ramp in the OR 217/U.S. 26 interchange
- Restriping OR 217 southbound to add an auxiliary lane from the Wilshire Street on-ramp to the Walker Road off-ramp
- Widening the Walker Road off-ramp from OR 217 northbound.
Once complete, motorists will have three northbound through lanes between TV Highway and the Sunset Highway. The additional northbound lane will help eliminate the weaving that occurs between TV Highway and Walker Road as motorists are simultaneously entering and exiting the highway. In addition, sight distance and safety will be improved when traveling between OR 217 northbound and U.S. 26 eastbound.
View a map of Highway 217 showing where the additional lane will be located.
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| Traffic Impacts |
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The high traffic volumes on OR 217 require that all lanes be open without restrictions during daytime hours. Closing the lanes during the day would create backups and serious safety concerns. As a result, much of the work will take place during nighttime hours when traffic volumes are lower. Motorists will experience single and double lane closures on the highway during the overnight work hours, 7:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. As much as possible, daytime work will take place outside the travel lanes behind barriers. OR 217 will remain open at all times.
OR 217 has been restriped in order to accomodate a work zone along the right shoulder. Northbound travel lanes have been shifted to the west with barrier on either side. Additionally, only one lane will connect OR 217 northbound to U.S. 26 eastbound. The center lane of OR 217 northbound will now only continue north to Barnes Rd. and will not connect to U.S. 26 eastbound. These new lane configurations will be in place for the duration of the project.
Wilshire Street overpass and off-ramp
Extensive bridge work is required to lengthen the Wilshire Street overpass and reconstruct the Wilshire Street off-ramp. This work will require a temporary traffic pattern change on the Wilshire Street overpass. For a 90-day period in summer 2010, the Wilshire Street overpass will be reduced to one travel lane – heading west – 24 hours a day. Motorists heading east across the Wilshire Street overpass during the closure period will be detoured onto OR 217 southbound, exit on Walker Road, head northbound on OR 217 and then exit onto Wilshire Street. Pedestrians and bicyclists will not be impacted during the closure and will be able to travel in both directions on Wilshire Street.
After the Wilshire Street overpass lanes are reopened, there will be a temporary closure of the Wilshire Street off-ramp for up to 60 days to complete the ramp reconstruction work.
The on-ramp to U.S. 26 eastbound from Wilshire Street will remain permanently closed.
Motorists are reminded that traffic fines are double in a construction zone. Please drive carefully.
Read the weekly construction news that details traffic impact information on a weekly basis, updated every Friday.
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| Nighttime Noise |
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Nighttime work began end of March 2009 and will continue intermittent throughout the project. In general, night work will be Monday - Thursday nights and will coincide with work that requires lane closures. Therefore, there may be 6 weeks in a row of night work, followed by a month or two of just daytime work. Night work does not preclude daytime work and vice versa.
Nighttime construction noise may be audible to residents living along the project corridor. It is ODOT’s intent to keep those nearest the work notified of nighttime, noise-generating activities. There are several measures already in place to help mitigate the noise.
A phone number is available for reporting noise problems or incidents requiring immediate attention (located below under contact information).
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| History of the project |
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In 1991, a multi-modal partnership was formed among ODOT, TriMet, the City of Portland and Washington and Multnomah counties to address how transportation projects would be developed in response to the population growth in Washington County. As a result, the Westside Corridor Project was created as a long-range plan defining and prioritizing future transportation projects. Major projects already completed as part of the Westside Corridor Project are the Westside MAX, the Camelot to Sylvan project, and the addition of a third southbound lane on the north end of Oregon 217.
The Oregon 217 Modernization project was defined in the Westside Corridor Project and designed to help relieve congestion on one section of Oregon 217. The final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) written for the Westside Corridor Project stipulated that Oregon 217 not be expanded beyond three lanes in each direction.
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| OR 217 Preservation Project |
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Oregon Mainline Paving, a contractor for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) completed work September 2007 to grind and pave OR 217 from 72nd Avenue in Tigard to the U.S. 26 (Sunset Highway) interchange. The pavement on OR 217 was severely rutted from the 108,000 vehicles a day that use the highway. This 6.39 mile stretch of highway was last repaved in 1994. The contractor also paved a one-mile section of the Sunset Highway westbound just east of OR 217. This $6.5 million preservation project included the following upgrades:
- grinding and paving the roadway and most of the ramps in the project area
- modifying and extending guardrail
- constructing ADA ramps at the terminus of select ramps on OR 217
- adding durable reflective striping
- replacing ramp meters and signal loop detectors
- installing new and/or improved signs
View a map of the OR 217 Preservation Project.
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| ODOT Contact Information |
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ODOT Community Affairs:
PH: 503-731-8247
Email: Lili.D.Gordon@odot.state.or.us
To report noise problems or incidents requiring immediate attention
(24-hour hotline): 503-646-0231
Read the weekly construction news that details traffic impact information on a weekly basis, updated every Friday.
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