Road Work Closes Part of Hwy 101 on Oregon Coast Between Florence, Yachats

Published 02/15/21 at 7:06 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Yachats, Oregon) – Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) announced this week that a section U.S. 101 between Florence and Yachats will be closed for up to a week as crews build a retaining wall. The closure takes place at milepost 170.5, a little over two miles south of Cape Perpetua (about a half mile south of Bob’s Creek Wayside.)

ODOT said since the closure is between Sea Lion Caves and Cook’s Cavern, there are a few areas with enough space where larger vehicles can turn around.

Local traffic will have access beyond the closures on either side of the project, but there will be no through traffic at any time. This closes off access between Florence and Yachats for central Oregon coast visitors. The only way between the two towns is via I-5 and the coast range highways, such as Highway 20 near Newport and Highway 126 into Florence. See Oregon Coast Traffic Conditions

The closure will begin later this week, depending on the weather. Until the closure begins, traffic will continue in one lane, controlled by flaggers. Travelers should expect closures or extended delays in the area for the next few weeks. Check TripCheck.com or call 5-1-1 for the current road status.

While the road is completely closed, crews will be building a new retaining wall to hold the road in place. After the closure there will be access through the project area on a single lane with flaggers controlling traffic, but travelers should expected extended delays for an additional week. Once the repair project is complete, the road will again be closed for several days for the drill rig to be recovered from the rocks below. A 200 ton crane will be used and will block the entire road.

A project to repair the section of road held in place by a historic retaining wall began last Monday, February 6.

A crack in the road was reported in January. Monitoring found that it was becoming larger because the containment wall was failing and an immediate repair was required.

The road cracked and sank because the containment wall was failing, and an immediate repair was required. The northern portion of the wall collapsed on Friday as crews were working between the road and the wall to place 150 feet of micro-piling. Micro-piling involves placing two-inch metal poles into the bedrock and then filling the surrounding hole with concrete. This will shore up the road, keeping it from shifting. Repairs to the retaining wall itself will then be done, and guardrail replaced.

On Friday, the northern half of the wall collapsed and an employee of GeoStabilization International and the drill rig he was operating fell about 150 feet to the rocks below. The person is recovering from injuries sustained in the accident.

Road status information boards will be placed on U.S. 101 at Newport, Waldport and Florence, and on OR 126 Florence-Eugene Highway in Florence and Veneta. MORE PHOTOS OF THE AREA BELOW

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