PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is complete more than a week ahead of schedule, according to officials with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
ODOT made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday. According to officials, crews just need to re-stripe the southbound lanes, then the interstate will be back open to traffic. Re-striping work is scheduled to begin Wednesday night.
Reopening will begin at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Officials say it will take approximately 24 hours to fully re-open I-5.
The lanes are expected to start reopening to traffic sometime by midday Thursday, Oct. 8, ODOT said. During this time, some lanes and entrance ramps will remain closed as crews pick up all equipment and re-stripe the interstate.
There will be short-term closures of the Broadway exit lane, North Going Street on-ramp, North Alberta Street on-ramp, the I-405 southbound split from I-5 southbound (only after I-5 southbound is re-opened), and lanes of the exit ramp from I-84 westbound to I-5 southbound throughout the night as crews remove the temporary striping and reinstall the permanent striping in its original configuration, ODOT said.
“We’re asking drivers to pay attention, use caution, obey speed limits, and give workers space to finish the work. The best action the public can take in the next 24 hours is to try to avoid the area while they get the highway reopened,” officials said during the press conference. “Tripcheck.com will have the latest information for route planning.”
Watch the full press conference below.
The project began on Sept. 11 and was projected to last five weeks, with a completion date set for Oct. 16.
The project repaired and reinforced weak areas along southbound I-5 in Portland’s Rose Quarter. Crews also replaced bridge joints and repaved the surface of the interstate.
Workers also removed the concrete surface layer on the elevated structure just south of the Moda Center, making structural repairs to the base layer and replacing the concrete surface.