Construction to limit access on I-5/Belt Line interchange.

Byline: Diane Dietz The Register-Guard

Eugene-Springfield residents going to Salem, Portland or Seattle this month may have to go south before they go north.

For 13 days - as yet unspecified - the Interstate 5/Belt Line Road interchange will offer no northbound freeway entrances at all, so drivers must find city street routes south to the I-5/I-105 interchange to get on the northbound freeway. Or they may opt to head north along local streets to Coburg and get on I-5 there.

It will all amount to a big inconvenience for about 7,500 drivers a day who usually catch the Portland-bound freeway at Belt Line.

"The first day or two will be really rough, and then people will figure out different ways to get where they're going," said Joe Harwood, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The start of the 13-day, no-northbound-access period is uncertain because it's weather dependent, Harwood said. Paving crews can work in a mist or a shower, but a downpour will stop them cold. Crews are hoping for a stretch of relatively dry weather. They'll start as soon as possible after the evening of Nov. 9.

The purpose of the first closure is to allow contractor Mowat Construction to reroute the northbound freeway onto the I-5 median strip and put in a temporary, new northbound ramp to channel Belt Line traffic onto the rerouted lanes.

The jog in the freeway will give the contractor room for about 16 months to build two new bridges that will carry freeway traffic over Game Farm Road.

The effort is one part of the ongoing $72 million reconstruction of the big interchange. The whole project aims to end the accident-prone traffic weaves in the current configuration.

Mowat initially wanted to close the northbound on-ramps for 30 days, but that was too long, Harwood said. "It's like, `You've got to be kidding.' We can't shut it down that long."

So the agency gave Mowat an additional $15,000 to hire more workers and bring in more machinery to finish in 13 days or less.

While the ramps are closed, northbound drivers stopping at Gateway for food or rest will feel stuck - unless they know the roundabout route east to Pioneer Parkway, south to I-105 and then back onto Interstate 5.

So the Transportation Department has printed 10,000 info cards with maps detailing the detour route, which they will give to Gateway businesses to distribute to customers.

The highway agency is adamant that the ramps must be reopen before Thanksgiving, lest Gateway merchants miss out on the post-holiday shopping fest.

Another piece of good news for merchants: The initial, 13-day phase will close ramps leading away from - rather than to - the Gateway district.

After the first phase, when the temporary ramp starts carrying traffic, the hassles will ease, but they won't go away.

Instead of whipping onto the freeway from curved ramps, the Belt Line traffic will stop at a light, take a sharp turn and get metered onto the freeway.

In peak hours, about 650 cars will stop and go with the signal, according to current traffic patterns. That will probably cause afternoon back-ups during the 16-month construction period.

"If there was any way we could engineer our way around that, we would have done it," Harwood said. "The bottom line is: It's going to be painful, and we're going to try to get it done as soon as we can."

HIT OR MISS?

The Oregon Department of Transportation will begin airing a rhythm and blues song about the Belt Line Road project on Thursday on eight Lane County radio stations.

The Oregon ad agency Cappelli Miles Spring created the 60-second spot. The radio campaign is costing about $22,000.

Here are the Cappelli Miles-penned blues lyrics:

Hey this song is from ODOT 

We gotta close some I-5 ramps

It may make you a little crazy

Your neck may even cramp

So take it easy on Belt Line

Keep your eyes on the road

Take your time on Belt Line

Watch the signs for where to go

We got a ways to go here

Yep, that's a big crane

But keep your eyes on the road, dear

Or your car may `feel the pain'

(VOICE OVER) Our I-5 and Belt Line interchange project is under way. So keep cool, your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel and stay safe. Give yourself a little more time, and we'll all be flowing through the area smooth as silk. Take it easy on the good folks working in the area, too!

Take it easy on Belt Line

Keep your eye on where to go

Take your time ...

You'll get there don't you know

GET UPDATES

Online: keepusmoving .info/proj_beltline.html and www.tripcheck.com

On the phone: [phone]

On the radio: 1660 AM