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March 8 2026 Vol. X • No. 5
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First Phase of $55.5M Oregon I-5 Widening Project Continues By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
Drivers on Oregon’s Interstate 5 south of Salem will soon get a break from a historic bottleneck when a new $55.5 million widening project is completed in the coming year. Phase one of the project south of the state capital includes widening the southbound stretch of I-5 between milepost 249.5 and 248.9 — Kuebler and Delaney roads — from two lanes to three lanes, replacing and reconstructing two bridges and an on-ramp and adding a roundabout and new sound walls. The Salem-based K&E Excavating is the project contractor. “It will help eliminate a congestion point,” said Derek Moore, resident engineer. “I-5 is three lanes all the way from Portland through Salem. As you leave Salem, it narrows down to two lanes, then it widens to three lanes a bit, and then back to two. This project takes out that section of two lanes, so it stays three lanes longer. The key point is that there are some pretty steep hills through there, and you get trucks trying to pass each other, and it slows down things for everybody.” Work on the project began in August 2024, with traffic management on the interstate the major concern. “We were fortunate that there was a kind of a bypass, a detour that we were able to use, so we're able to shift traffic away from where the majority of the work is happening,” Moore said. The detour is on an old I-5 alignment that previously served as an exit/entrance ramp. Crews were able to upgrade the ramp so it
As part of the I-5 widening project from Kuebler to Delaney, crews are pile driving to begin rebuilding the South Commercial Street Bridge.
could be used as part of the detour, Moore said. “So now, we're able to put northbound traffic onto that and put southbound traffic onto the old northbound, so there’s a crossover for southbound traffic, and that left us with the southbound alignment free from traffic, so you can do all the work there more efficiently.”
The location sees approximately 64,000 vehicles in both directions daily, said Mindy McCartt, an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) public information officer. Traffic was often brought to a standstill by the bottleneck, combined with the trucks attempting to climb the hill. see WIDENING page 6
Phase one of the project south of the state capital includes widening the southbound stretch of I-5 between milepost 249.5 and 248.9 -- Kuebler and Delaney roads — from two lanes to three lanes.