Skip to main content

Oregon State Flag An official website of the State of Oregon »

Oregon.gov Homepage

Your Questions Answered

Photo of the Astoria-Megler Bridge  

people with questions iconAnswers to frequently asked questions

We appreciate you taking the time to learn about the project! Take a look at the questions and answers below by clicking on the question or the "+". If you still have questions about the work we're doing after reading this online open house, please let us know.

We looked at three possible options for how we could construct these safety improvements.

Here is our top option:

  • Fully closing the bridge at night, keeping one lane open on weekdays and two lanes open on weekends for 35 nights or about eight weeks in total during the late fall to early spring.
The other two options we looked at but aren't going with are:
  • A full 24/7 bridge closure for about 14 continuous days during the summer.
  • Fully closing the bridge at night and keeping two lanes open during the day and on weekends for about 11 weeks in total during the late fall to early spring.

Why didn't we decide on a full 24/7 bridge closure? 

  • A full closure would have the biggest impact to travelers, because the bridge would need to remain closed all day and night for 14 days.
  • Work would need to happen in the summer, which is the busiest travel season for the area.
  • It's the most expensive of the three options because contractors would need to bring in extra crews, materials and equipment with significantly more overtime to finish making the repairs within the shorter timeframe.​

Why didn't we decide on keeping two lanes open during the day?

  • It would take at least two weeks longer to complete the work than our top option.
  • It would create the most nighttime construction noise, since all the work would occur at night.​
  • It costs more than our top option. 
  • Stopping work to reopen the bridge during the day would risk lower-quality repairs. This is because completing all the repair steps in one night would be difficult, and there would be limited time to deal with any problems that occurred. ​

By fully closing the bridge at night, we can create a work zone that:

  • Is safer for our crews.
  • Allows crews to work faster since they aren't near traffic. 
  • Improves the quality of the work since workers will have enough space to properly complete their tasks.​
If we were to keep one lane of traffic open at night, it would:
  • Create a smaller and tighter work zone, which is less safe for the crews.
  • Require flaggers directing traffic and limit where crews could work on the bridge, making construction last longer. 
  • Make it harder for crews to do high-quality work because the work area would be extremely cramped.​
Closing the bridge fully at night creates a safer work zone, saves money and keeps traffic moving when compared to the other two options considered.

The bridge is a vital link between Oregon and Washington in an area with few other options. Because of this, we looked closely at several factors when considering options on how to construct these safety improvements, including: 

  • Worker safety.
  • Risk of schedule delays.
  • Traffic impacts on local streets and in the region.
  • Durability of the repairs.
  • Noise.
  • Cost.

Our top option for how we construct these improvements:

  • Keeps workers safe and allows emergency vehicles to get through during full bridge closures.
  • Allows work to happen in the fall and winter, avoiding the busy summer travel season.
  • Has fewer traffic impacts than a full 24/7 bridge closure for two weeks during construction.
  • Takes less time to complete than keeping two lanes open during the day throughout construction.
  • Creates less nighttime noise than some of the other options, since much of the work would be done during the day.​
  • Is the lowest-cost option.

If you drive a semi-truck across the U.S. 101 Astoria-Megler Bridge, here's what you can expect:

  • During the nighttime full bridge closures | Semi-trucks can follow the alternate route using the Lewis and Clark Bridge.​
  • During the daytime, single lane closures – when crews are replacing the bridge rails | Flaggers will direct traffic through the lane closure. Semi-trucks up to 14-feet wide can pass.& This will happen on about 50 weekdays. 
  • During the daytime, single lane closures – when crews are replacing the driving surface | Flaggers will direct traffic through the lane closure. Semi-trucks up to 12-feet wide can pass. This will happen on about 40 weekdays.

We'll know more about the schedule and how the project will be constructed when we have a contractor on board. We know that the bridge repairs will be constructed in multiple phases:​

  • Crews will remove the existing aluminum railing and attach the new railing. ​
  • Crews will use hydroblasting, a method that uses high-pressure water jets to clean and remove buildup and debris, to prepare the bridge surface for the new paving.
  • Then crews pour the new concrete driving surface. It'll take time for the concrete to cure before traffic can drive on it. The curing process is important for the new concrete surface to reach full strength.

Photo showing hydroblastingPhoto showing crews hydroblasting a bridge's driving surface.

Photo showing crews install concrete on a bridge driving surface ​Photo showing crews applying a new concrete driving surface.​

This is a historic bridge and we designed the new railing with that in mind. We worked with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office to help guide the rail design.​ The new bridge rails will be upgraded to meet current standards while maintaining a similar two-horizontal-rail format to what is currently on the bridge.

Drawing showing what the existing bridge rail looks like 

 
Drawing showing what the planned new bridge rail could look like  

Please note these are renderings and may not be to scale. The final design for the new railing may look slightly different.​​