Update: Monday April 17. Highway 38 has one lane opened to traffic. Expect ten to fifteen minute delays.
Update: Sunday, April 16. Transportation officials hope to have one lane of Highway 38 reopened late Sunday night. Monday, ODOT says drivers should expect delays of 10-15 minutes as flaggers will provide traffic control Travelers are asked to drive with extreme caution.
A semi-truck struck a bridge Wednesday on the road between Roseburg and Reedsport.
The damage to the Scottsburg Bridge made it unsafe to bear weight. A contractor from Monroe, Washington is repairing the bridge’s steel truss using a heat-strengthening process.
Jared Castle is a spokesman for ODOT. He says it’s fortunate the crash occurred before summer, but the road closure is a big inconvenience since the closest detours entail 100 miles of travel.
Castle: “This road carries just over 3 thousand people a day, in what we call the off season. During the summer peak, travel on this road really spikes up to about 4,800, 4,900 vehicles a day. Summer tourism travel is vital to the community of Reedsport and the communities along 38 as well as down the south coast.”
ODOT estimates repair costs will total about $300 thousand. They’re hoping to eventually replace the bridge—a $30 to $40 million project.