A second landslide has closed Highway 36 between the South Willamette Valley and the coast. It’s expected to take several days to clear.
Angela Beers-Seydel is with Oregon Department of Transportation. She says the road was closed for a previous slide that crews had cleared Sunday. Then they discovered a bigger, more problematic, landslide just a thousand feet away.
“This slide is actually even larger.” Beers-Seydel says, “It’s got more trees. It’s got more dirt. It’s got really large rocks that are going to have to be moved out of the roadway before we can re-open.”
Beers-Seydel says the road could be closed all week while crews clean-up. Highway 36 connects Junction City with Mapleton. There are alternate routes. Beers-Seydel says recent rain and snow has drenched the roadsides and drivers should use caution on rural highways.