Southbound I-5 Near Kuebler Boulevard Exit 252 Down to One Lane for Paving This Weekend

Drivers should expect slow traffic on the freeway between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Image courtesy: koncreteindustries.com

(SALEM) - Interstate 5 north of Kuebler Blvd. in Salem will be reduced to one lane Friday night through Saturday morning. Crews will be doing paving work from 10:00 PM Friday, until the following morning at 9:00 AM.

After the paving is finished, traffic on southbound I-5 will shift to a new alignment over the recently completed Fairview Industrial Avenue-Marietta Street overpass bridge.

Hamilton Construction, the contractor for the Oregon Department of Transportation, will be laying up to 13 inches of new asphalt paving over part of the existing right lane of I-5 for the new southbound alignment.

Freeway traffic will be restricted to the left lane during the paving work. Because of the extreme thickness of the new asphalt paving, extra time must be allotted to cooling the roadway before traffic can be shifted to the new alignment.

It is possible that the planned 9:00 AM Saturday traffic shift to two lanes on the new alignment could be delayed if the asphalt hasn’t cooled enough to handle traffic, highway officials said.

Drivers should watch for electronic message boards, narrow lanes, roadside equipment and workers during the overnight paving work. Allow extra time to travel through the freeway work zone that extends from the N. Santiam Highway-Mission Street exit 253 to south of Kuebler Boulevard exit 252.

After two lanes of southbound I-5 traffic are shifted to the new alignment on Saturday, the contractor will continue paving over the old inside lane to widen the freeway.

Drivers should watch for roadside equipment and workers, and pay close attention to reduced speeds in the work zone between exits 252 and 253 through south Salem.