It’s time once again to activate Hard Drive’s early-alert system of the five biggest (most foreseeable) bumps in the Portland area commute over the next five days.
1.Southwest Barbur Boulevard at the Newbury Street and Vermont Street bridges in Portland:Starting today. traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will continue until the project is complete in the fall. Only one bridge will see lane closures at a time. Built in 1934, these
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It’s time once again to activate Hard Drive’s early-alert system of the five biggest (most foreseeable) bumps in the Portland area commute over the next five days.
1.Southwest Barbur Boulevard at the Newbury Street and Vermont Street bridges in Portland:Starting today. traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will continue until the project is complete in the fall. Only one bridge will see lane closures at a time. Built in 1934, these bridges are in desperate need of repairs. A rebuilding project is expected to take five months to complete.
2. Rose Festival Fleet departure in downtown Portland:The ships will depart together Monday between 6 and 9 a.m. Yep, in the middle of the morning commute. The Broadway, Steel and Burnside drawbridges will reach for the sky multiple times, causing lengthy delays and disruptions to TriMet service.
3. Southeast Grand Avenue/Oregon 99E between Ivon and Woodward streets in Portland: A sewer repair project will require lane restrictions and a ramp closure around the clock for two to four weeks. This location is just north of the Ross Island Bridge, before Grand Avenue becomes McLoughlin Boulevard.Environmental Services is repairing a segment of failing sewer pipe under southbound Oregon 99E.The right southbound lane on Grand Avenue/Oregon 99E will be closed in the construction zone. (That will probably deliver sucker punch to the evening commute.) The Ivon Street ramp is expected to remain open for vehicles exiting the highway, but the on-ramp will be closed. Detour signs will direct traffic along Southeast Division Street to Martin Luther King Boulevard Jr. south, which turns into SE Grand Avenue/Oregon 99E. Motorists should expect significant delays (up to 30 to 40 minutes) due to the lane closure.
4. Oregon 99E (McLoughlin Boulevard) Naef Road to Clackamas River Bridge in Oregon City:A roadway restoration project on 99E — including rebuilding and repaving parts of the busy historic highway as well as connecting the traffic signals to improve traffic flow – will require lane closures through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all day Saturday. Expect delays of up to 20 minutes outside of rush hour.
5.Southeast 122nd Avenue between Stark and Market streets in Portland: Starting Monday through August 15, a grinding and repaving project will require lane closures between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays. On-street parking will also be restricted. Expect delays. Local access to residences and businesses will be provided.
This week’s journey into the archives takes us back to the Tesla road trip of 2013.
— Joseph Rose