Traffic mandate changed for Nyssa venture
New plan will help some city merchants
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Thursday, April 16, 2009 10:06 AM PDT
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| Cores are being drilled out of the side of the underpass at Nyssa to allow the walls to be anchored when the pavement, which helps support the walls, is removed. |
NYSSA — An Oregon Department of Transportation official told business owners at Tuesday’s Nyssa City Council session that traffic restrictions linked to a pavement project will be modified and confined mainly to the underpass area.
That message, delivered by ODOT Project Manager Paul Woodworth, is good news to some merchants who were concerned when they learned the initial traffic restriction plan stipulated vehicles would be stopped halfway up the block from the underpass, cutting off access to businesses on either side of Main Street. The new plan will not block direct access to stores or offices situated along the street.
Woodworth assured people the ODOT work will stay pretty much between the two First streets, situated at each end of the underpass, where traffic will be stopped.
Woodworth also noted that one-way traffic through the underpass will be maintained during most of the project, which the contractor plans to have completed by the end of September and sooner if possible.
Presently, traffic movement is being controlled by flaggers, but concrete barriers will be installed by May 7, along with portable signal lights, Dan Holte, project superintendent for Landis & Landis Construction — the primary contractor — said.
“We’re constantly looking at the schedule to see if we can shave some time off,” Holte said.
While right-hand turns off of Main Street onto South First Street will be allowed, access onto Main Street from First or East First will be restricted because that traffic will enter between the signal lights and not be controlled, Woodworth said.
Access to North First Street will also be blocked for a short time because of pavement replacement and parking at the corner of Main and South First will be prohibited.
Noting that the underpass project has been in the works for several years, Woodworth said, “We never could find a funding mechanism. We found a little money for design.”
The project, he said, remained on the shelf until some money was snatched from other projects and will cost about $1.7 million.
Groundwater leaking into the underpass causes breakup of the pavement and icy conditions during the winter. Woodworth said the existing bath tub is apparently not long enough to hold the water back. A new one will block the water and pool so it can be pumped out. A new pumping system will also be installed.
Currently, crews are drilling core holes out of the walls of the underpass to allow the walls to be anchored.
The pavement supports the bottom of the walls, and anchors will keep them from moving when the pavement is removed, Woodworth explained.
