US 101 road work in Pacific County will cause delays near Oregon border

Emergency work to replace a culvert in Pacific County will cause delays just north of Astoria-Megler bridge.

In a release from the Washington State Department of Transportation, they say that work to replace a failing culvert under US 101 at milepost 1.2 begins this week.

During the work, US 101 will remain open with a temporary signal, alternating travelers through a single lane while construction crews stage equipment and supplies. 

Once construction begins later this week, travelers should plan for delays of up to 20 minutes. 

More information about this project can be found by visiting the project webpage.

On Monday, Feb. 16, after several days of heavy seasonal rainstorms and harsh winter weather swept through Pacific County, maintenance crews discovered that the concrete culvert that runs underneath the highway had begun to fail, causing a portion of the road to give way and sink.  

Crews determined that the drainage system became overloaded, causing two separate sections in each shoulder to collapse under the highway. 

To keep travelers safe, crews closed a single lane of the road until permanent repairs could be made.  

“During the most recent winter storms, our maintenance crews were working around-the-clock to keep the roads and highways open and safe for travelers,” said Project Engineer Joanna Lowrey. “We realize that it’s never ideal to close a lane of the highway, especially when there’s only two lanes for travel. In this instance, a single lane closure is the best way traffic can continue to use the stretch of highway safely, until crews can replace the culvert.”

For updates, please visit WSDOT’s Southwest Region travel planner or follow WSDOT on Twitter.