Highway 101/6 Project Update – 4/5/18; Big Changes Coming This Week

By Sierra Lauder, Director of Events and Downtown Development, Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce

This is the week! Monday, April 9th will be the pivotal day in transitioning in to the next phase of the project. Regardless of the weather, re-striping will take place, freshening up arrows and realigning the traffic pattern on Main Street. North of the bridge, the small buffer area between north and southbound traffic that has been utilized as a turning pocket for Rosenberg’s will disappear, and access in to Rosenberg’s may shift from their north driveway entrance to their south driveway entrance as road work north of the bridge begins in earnest.

South of the bridge to First Street, what happens on Monday will depend on the weather. The stretch of the road that runs from the southern end of the new bridge to First Street that has been stripped down and regraded is set to be repaved. However, asphalt requires certain temperatures and climate conditions, and with the ever evolving forecast it is too volatile to be sure that paving can occur Monday. If it doesn’t work out for Monday, getting that paving in and complete will be the top priority as soon as weather allows.

Main Avenue in the downtown, from First to Fourth, will see a dramatic change. Regardless of weather, the gap between the new curb and gutter and the road base along the east side of Main will be filled, and then the new striping will shift the traffic all the way to the east side of Main along the newly completed sidewalk there. Parking on both sides of the street between First and Fourth will remain closed, and construction on the west side of Main will begin.

Crews out stripping wires, cable, and conduit from temporary poles Tuesday afternoon. TPUD will be removing them now that the permanent signals have gone live on Pacific Ave.

The end of this week will see the finalization of the night work on the lights on Pacific- things have been progressing quickly there, with Oregon State Bridge, Oneill Electric, and ODOT all on site each night this week. Tillamook PUD and Comcast have been very active during the day, moving lines and wires and getting the temporary poles stripped and ready for removal.

Bioswale on the east side of Main Avenue prior to the liner. Liners are scheduled to begin installation today, Thursday, and then temporary fill will be added prior to the final planting in September.

The liners for the bioswales on the east side of Main are scheduled for installation starting April 5th, and as the liners go in, fill will be added to each pit. Final planting of the bioswales will not take place until September.

In front of the Pioneer Museum, the radial concrete pattern is finished, and the spaces that remain will become planter areas. The top soil and planting will be placed this September as part of the last phase of the project.

Despite the rain, sidewalk work on the east side of Main downtown should wrap up shortly, and then sidewalk crews will move to the bridge to continue work while the traffic shift occurs.

Stay safe out there.

For more FAQ’s about our project, including conceptual drawings that help visualize the project in its entirety, you can check out the ODOT page: www.TillamookTraffic.org