Heads up, Bay Area commuters: Interstate 84 is gonna hit you with some slowdowns next week. According to a bulletin from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), shared via GovDelivery, expect delays east of The Dalles starting Monday, Sept. 22, through Friday, Sept. 26. The cause? Paving work between mileposts 97 and 119, that's a stretch from The Dalles to Arlington, for the geographically inclined.
Plan your podcasts and playlists accordingly because daily lane and shoulder closures will greet you from the crack of dawn at 6 a.m., sticking around until the early evening at 6 p.m. ODOT is setting up these restrictions to give crews a safe workspace, while they strip away tired pavement and lay down a fresh 2.5 inches of asphalt.
There's more, as ODOT warns of "additional minor delays" that might crop up the following Monday (we’re talking Sept. 29 here) because someone has to paint those lines on the smooth, new pavement. While it might seem like a drag, this whole grind and inlay passage is what ODOT calls a "key part of preserving road quality and extending the life of the interstate."
For those of you with a thing for fresh asphalt or if you just want to track the status of that sweet, sweet pavement across the state, ODOT points you to their pavement preservation site. But seriously, dig into their details if you must; the preservation dance is supposed to keep our roads less crumbly and more reliable.
