Spring break travelers should find it a little easier to get home this weekend. All Interstate 5 travel lanes and interchange ramps between Rice Hill and Cottage Grove will be open from Friday afternoon, March 25, to Sunday night, March 27, as the first phase of the Anlauf to Elkhead Road Paving project comes to a close. The end of spring break usually sees a spike in I-5 traffic as vacationers return home. ODOT has adjusted the project schedule to avoid lane closures on days when high traffic volumes are expected. Construction resumes Monday – The next construction phase begins Monday morning, March 28, and will continue for seven weeks. During this phase, I-5 will be limited to a single lane in each direction between milepost 154 and milepost 162. A crossover will be used for several weeks and motorists should drive with caution and watch for potholes. Width restrictions will be in place. Several interchange ramps will be closed from late March to mid-May, including both northbound ramps at Elk Creek/Cox Road (Exit 159) and the northbound off-ramp at Salt Springs Road (Exit 160). Starting in late March, the speed limit through the construction zone will be temporarily reduced to 55 mph. Exit 162 ramp closing – The southbound I-5 on-ramp at the Drain interchange/Oregon 38 junction (Exit 162) will be closed approximately seven months starting Monday, March 28. This will allow workers to rebuild the roadway at the foot of the ramp. A two-mile detour will be in place. Oregon 38 motorists heading south should take I-5 north to the Curtin interchange (Exit 163) and turn around. The $40.3 million I-5 Anlauf to Elkhead Road Paving project will replace eight miles of asphalt with concrete and build a southbound climbing lane at milepost 161. Construction began in January and is scheduled for completion in fall 2017.
