Smooth Sailing on I-5 Douglas Co., May 25

All Interstate 5 travel lanes and ramps in Douglas County are scheduled to be open for Memorial Day weekend as construction winds down on the I-5 Anlauf to Elkhead Road Paving project. Over this past weekend, prime contractor K&E Excavating opened the southbound on-ramp at Exit 162 (Drain/Oregon 38 junction), which had been closed since last year. All paving work has been completed. Through this summer and fall, I-5 motorists traveling between milepost 154 and 162 can expect intermittent lane and ramp closures for striping work, installing signs and rumble strips and other cleanup work. Most traffic impacts will be minimal and few delays are expected. Construction on the $40.5 million project began in January 2016. The project resurfaced eight miles of I-5 with concrete and constructed a southbound climbing lane at milepost 161. Cable barrier project – Meanwhile, construction is scheduled to continue the rest of the year on a $7.5 million project that will install cable median barrier along several areas of I-5 in southern Oregon.  All lanes will be open for Memorial Day weekend. However, I-5 motorists should expect left-lane and shoulder closures between Oakland and Yoncalla (milepost 144-153) and south of Roseburg (milepost 99-119) for the rest of spring and summer. Cable median barrier helps improve safety by reducing the potential for crossover crashes and head-on collisions. Construction involves clearing and excavating the median, adding drainage, building emergency vehicle turn-arounds, and installing cable barrier and foundations.  Prime contractor Coral Construction will also install cable barrier along several areas of I-5 in Josephine and Jackson County this summer and fall.