Historic rock wall along Oregon Coast Highway to be repaired

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An historic rock wall on U.S. 101 near Sea Lion Caves will be repaired this fall and winter.

(Oregon Department of Transportation)

Expect slow traffic on U.S. 101, the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, north of Florence until April of 2016 during reconstruction of an historic rock wall.

The heads up was provided in a news release from the Oregon Department of Transportation. Affected by the project will be those who drive between Florence and Yachats, between Lane and Lincoln counties, just north of Sea Lion Caves.

The Sea Lion Point Rock Wall is an example of rock work by the Works Progress Administration along the Oregon Coast Highway of the 1930s, according to ODOT.

Rebuilding the wall at milepost 179 will begin next week (Oct. 5, 2015) and continue into next April. The construction zone will require closing one lane 24 hours a day until completion.

Located nine miles north of Florence, the wall was constructed in 1931. Over the years it has lost stability in several places. The project will increase the height and restore the appearance of one of only four recognized rock work sites on U.S. 101 in the state, according to ODOT.

H.P. Civil Inc. of Stayton was awarded the low-bid contract of $2.6 million, according to ODOT.

October will see several other work zones in the stretch of highway between Florence and Yachats. Traffic disruption at other sites will be of much shorter duration than the work on the wall, according to ODOT.

Check Oregon highway conditions at tripcheck.com.

-- Terry Richard
trichard@oregonian.com
503-221-8222; @trichardpdx

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