Night Work Begins This Week On I-5 Winchester Bridge Project

Drivers on I-5 north of Roseburg will start seeing nighttime construction impacts this week as work begins on the Winchester bridges near the Del Rio Road interchange.

The Oregon Department of Transportation said contractors are scheduled to begin nighttime work on the southbound I-5 bridge starting Sunday night, May 31. The work is part of a larger project to repair both the northbound and southbound I-5 bridges over the North Umpqua River, CORP railroad tracks and Amacher Park.

The bridges are located near milepost 128.92, just south of Exit 129, which serves the Winchester area, Umpqua Community College and nearby businesses.

During the current phase, both southbound lanes will remain open during the daytime and on weekends. On weeknights, from Sunday night through Friday morning, southbound traffic will be limited to one lane between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. The open lane will be 10 feet wide.

The speed limit through the southbound work zone will also be reduced to 50 mph.

ODOT said drivers should slow down, use caution and watch for workers and construction vehicles in the area.

A detour will be available for trucks and wide loads. Those vehicles can leave I-5 at Exit 129 and use Del Rio Road and Garden Valley Road/Blvd. to reach Exit 125.

During this phase of construction, both northbound lanes are expected to remain open.

The project will repair both I-5 Winchester bridges, resurface the travel lanes, reconstruct joints, upgrade bridge rails and add protective screening. ODOT says traffic impacts will only affect one bridge at a time. Work is expected to continue for about two months on the first bridge before the contractor moves to the other bridge.

ODOT lists the estimated project cost through construction at about $15.7 million. The successful bid for the work was awarded to Carter & Company, Inc. of Salem for about $5.18 million.

All work is currently scheduled to be completed by Sept. 15.