Update / Highway improvement project

Regional road area improvement projects are continuing this week, and could slow travel.

Along Highway 101, a culvert repair project near Smith River, was slowed over the past few weeks due to rainy weather, according to CalTrans Public Information Officer Myles Cochrane.

“If we have adverse weather, we have to suspend the work,” he said. “Once the weather clears, than we get going again, so drivers can expect to see flaggers along the roadway, limited lane travel and up to 20-minute delays through October.”

The Ritter Creek project is designed to fix a failing culvert. The repair is part of a $3.25-million overall culvert system improvement that included work along Highway 197.

Crews are also paving approximately four to nine miles from the U.S. 101 junction on U.S. 199 in Del Norte County.

“That is a $2.4 million dollar pavement preservation job that’ll ultimately result in a hot mix asphalt overlay,” Cochrane said. “At this time we anticipate work to occur through next month.”

Motorists can expect one-way traffic from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day with up to 20-minute delays.

Another regional project is at the closure of the Collier Tunnel Rest Area along Highway 199 between the Oregon and California border.

“We’re rebuilding the wastewater treatment system there and at this time expect the project to be completed late this month,” Cochrane said “Please plan your rest stops around this closure.”

Cochrane said the $2.6 million upgrade will extend the useful life of the rest area and the work is more efficiently done in the summer because it requires dry conditions.

In Oregon, work to stabilize a failed slope along Highway 101, south of Gold Beach, is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

"The slope at milepoint 332 failed this spring because of heavy rain that saturated the ground," ODOT Public Information Representative Dan Latham said. "The repair involves placing stone embankment, re-establishing the stream channel below the slide and extending the culvert downslope."

Latham said construction began in August and is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 30. Motorists can expect intermittent lane closures until construction is complete. Flaggers will provide traffic control as needed.

Tidewater is the contractor for the $1.2 million project to repair the slide.