F E R N VA L L E Y I N T E R C H A N G E The $72 million Fern Valley Interchange project is headed into the home stretch, with roughly four months left, following more than two years of highway construction in Phoenix at the Interstate 5 Exit 24. Work currently underway includes the opening of the permanent northbound off-ramp, widening and base paving on Oregon 99 and Bolz Road, and final striping. Construction work still to come includes final paving on the west side of the interchange, new traffic signals and the opening of the Bear Creek Bridge. The project is scheduled for completion in September. “The project is really starting to come together now as we enter the summer,” said ODOT Project Manager Tim Fletcher. Fletcher said the last month was a busy one with I-5 paved in the project area and the new southbound onramp opened, following a five-day closure to connect the temporary ramp with the permanent one. “After the ramp opening, we put down permanent stripes and repainted the temporary stripes we first added last February during the interchange’s partial opening,” said Fletcher. “The temporary paint fades fast.”
The application of temporary paint allowed for additional adjustments as traffic adapted to the Diverging Diamond design. Fletcher cited one example where yield bars were moved to improve sight distance for southbound traffic taking the off-ramp to travel east of Phoenix. The next, and final, ramp to complete is the permanent northbound offramp, which is scheduled for a July opening. “Work on the northbound off-ramp is harder than it was on the southbound on-ramp,” said ODOT Project Information Specialist Gary Leaming. “We need to move more material because of the old bridge approach. And a water detention pond must be built.” The Bear Creek Bridge is also slated to open in July. Once traffic shifts over to the new structure, work will focus on adding sidewalks to the north side. “The bridge will open but still be an active work zone,” said Leaming. The Bear Creek Greenway has been in a detour since the beginning of the project. Bridge replacement necessitated a rapid flashing beacon to warn motorists of Greenway users crossing the road. According to Fletcher, there’s still work left to
odotmovingahead.com
June 17, 2016
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