Repairing slide damage on Ore. 42 could take months

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — It might take several months to repair the road damage caused by a giant landslide that left 200,000 to 300,000 cubic yards of debris at the Douglas and Coos county line, authorities said Tuesday.

One lane might reopen to traffic in the next few weeks, but it will take much longer to fix all the damage from the Dec. 23 slide, including broken and collapsed pavement, Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman Jared Castle said.

It occurred in a curvy 5-mile stretch of Oregon Route 42 that ODOT crews have been working to straighten for two years. As part of that project, crews logged about three acres of heavily timbered steep hillside rising next to the road, Castle said.

Heavy rainfall may have loosened the soil and sent debris tumbling onto the highway.

“Obviously the amount of rain that occurred in December had something to do with it,” Castle said. “Certainly we believe some of the slide movement was occurring due to our project as well.”

The department planned to start clearing the roadway during Tuesday’s window of dry weather, Castle said. The state plans to release water trapped in the pavement as a result of the slide and then begin fixing the broken and chipped sections of the roadway.

A drone video released by the agency shows an aerial view, revealing significant breakage and shifting in the pavement, as well as a huge pile of debris lying on the roadway.

Southwestern Oregon has numerous roadwork needs after heavy December rains. Along the Oregon coast, one lane of Highway 101 south of Port Orford sank 10 inches due to shifting sediments, officials said.