GLENDALE, Oregon — Motorists from southern Oregon and northern California traveling north on Interstate 5 may experience traffic delays in southern Douglas County starting today.
According to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), motorists there should expect weekday traffic delays over the next two weeks due to trees having to be cut down.
It states that starting Monday, February 20, ODOT contractors will be felling trees along the median and shoulder of I-5 between Glendale and Azalea (mile posts 80-88), Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to ODOT, progressive delays will apply in both directions and most delays will be less than 20 minutes, with southbound traffic being impacted between Canyonville (Exit 98) and Glendale (Exit 80) while northbound traffic from Sunny Valley ( Exit 71) to Quines becomes slower Creek (Exit 86). ODOT says flaggers will delay traffic for 10 to 20 minutes at each ramp in those areas.
ODOT says the work may also require lane and shoulder closures in both directions, and drivers should be alert for construction vehicles entering and exiting lanes.
It states that removing trees “will help improve safety by establishing a clear zone along I-5 lanes in this area.” Accidents involving high speed and solid objects often result in serious injury or death. Every year between 2016 and 2018, on average, 3,500 road deaths occurred nationwide when a vehicle went off the road and struck a tree, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
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https://www.kdrv.com/news/i-5-tree-work-to-slow-drivers-two-weeks-in-southern-oregon/article_70d7307a-b0f4-11ed-a24d-078c76e0d27a.html
