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The project will construct a 5.5 mile new alignment, replacing a 10 mile stretch of old US 20, west of Eddyville, with a safer, straighter highway that will offer wide shoulders and miles of passing lanes.
Overview
Work resumed on the former US 20: Pioneer Mountain to Eddyville project during the week of June 25, 2012.
The project broke ground as a Design Build project in 2005. Design Build is a method of contracting that gives the responsibility of project design and construction to the contractor.
No significant construction had occurred since February, 2010, after the Design Builder notified ODOT that out of plumb movement had occurred on two bridge bents. By October, 2010, continued ground movement had been recorded near four bridge locations where the Design
Builder had constructed buttresses to mitigate the landslides.
A dispute between the Design Builder and ODOT over responsibility for the continued landslide movement, the failed landslide mitigation, and the project delay led to a negotiated settlement.
On May 2, 2012 the Design Builder agreed to pay ODOT $15 million. ODOT agreed to release the Design Builder from its contract.
ODOT took immediate control of the project and began designing the project to replace bridges with engineered fills and culverts, mitigate the continued landslide activity, mitigate environmental impacts and complete the project.
Nine bridges were originally planned for construction. Six bridges have been completed.
Due to the continued landslide activity at four drainage locations, the project has decided not to complete three bridges in various stages of construction. Bridge columns at the three locations have been demolished. A fourth completed bridge has also been demolished.
Construction Phases
New construction-Phase I: 2012 & 2013
Scarsella Brothers, Inc., of Kent, Washington was awarded the contract for the first phase of work which got underway in June, 2012 and was completed, except for continuing erosion control, in April, 2013.
.
Other phases will include the following project elements:
2012-2013 |
2013 |
2014- 2015 |
2016 |
2015- 2016 |
2013-2015 |
Phase 1 |
Phase 2 |
Phase 3 |
Phase 4 |
Phase 5 |
Phase 6 |
Drainage- Horizontal & Blanket
Bridge Demolition
Cut 6 Slide Repair
Rock Production
Ground Anchor Testing Program |
Permanent Pipes
Test Fills
Drainage: Horizontal & Blanket
Phase 2A: Existing Alignment Safety Improvements
|
Major Earthwork
Landslide Mitigation
Rockfall Mitigation
Cut 7 Ground Anchors |
Roadside Development
Grading & Paving
Elk Passage
Signs & Striping
Continuing Landslide & Rockfall Mitigation
|
Environmental Mitigation
Floodplain restoration/creation near Little Elk Creek
Floodplain restoration/creation near Yaquina Meadows
On-site plantings |
Fish Passage Mitigation
Protective Right of Way Purchase
Conservation Easements
Removal of fish barriers in Yaquina Bay Estuary |
Additional Facts
Accomplished to date and other fun facts
- About 300,000 ft of horizontal drains have been drilled. That’s nearly 60 miles of horizontal drain. That’s about the distance from I-5 to Newport on US20/OR34.
- During a two-day, eight-inch rain event in November, 2012, the horizontal drains produced more than 2 million gallons of water per day. That’s equivalent to the daily needs of nearly 7,000 average Oregon households.
- 191,495 tons of rock has been produced. That’s nearly equivalent to the weight of two Aircraft Carriers.
- 4.3 million cubic yards of earth had been excavated, placed and compacted by February 2010. By 2016, the total will be 7.3 million cubic yards. That’s enough to fill more than eight Reeser Stadiums to the bleachers.
- The area can receive more than 90 inches of rainfall each year. That means a narrow window of time for earth moving. The construction season is only 3 – 4 months for earth moving.
- 385 total borings. 107 “new” borings have been made since December 2011 for ground movement instrumentation.
- One completed bridge and three partially completed bridges have been demolished.
- Nine vertical and inclined ground anchors were installed and tested between November, 2012 and January 30,2013.
Ground Anchor Testing
- There are nine cuts in the project, one as deep as 260 feet.
- There are 15 fills in the project, one as high as 180 feet.
Benefits
Safety - This route is a vital transportation link shared by commercial, recreational, and passenger traffic connecting the mid-coast with the Willamette Valley. This section of highway currently has a Safety Corridor designation put in effect when the corridor had a crash rate 60% higher than similar state highways. The project will make major safety improvements by building wider travel lanes and paved safety shoulders, providing a separated railroad crossing, and providing greater passing opportunities.
- Economics - By opening the corridor to most interstate trucks, it allows a major employer in Toledo, Georgia Pacific, a more direct route to the Willamette Valley and the I-5 corridor. Currently more than 100 truck trips per day must travel out of direction north on US 101 through Lincoln City and use the OR18/22 corridor through Salem to access I-5. Additionally, opening the corridor to freight movement provides future opportunities for regional economic development.
- Transportation system efficiencies – This project enhances regional connectivity by improving freight mobility on a major coastal feeder route. By providing more direct access for freight movement there are benefits to safety, congestion, and the environment. It will compliment the OR18/22 route and provide alternate routes for both the trucking industry and tourist traffic. It also provides for improved emergency access for the mid-coast region.
Contacts
Project Manager: Gene Wilborn, 541-757-4156 or email at: Gene.WILBORN@odot.state.or.us
Assistant Project Manager: Jaime Viramontes, 541-757-4280 or email at: Jaime.VIRAMONTES@odot.state.or.us
ODOT Public Information Officer: Rick Little, 541-726-2442 or email at: richard.little@odot.state.or.us