Forest Service Road 15 will close for repairs

The road connecting to the Blue River Reservoir from Highway 126 will close on September 10th for major repairs. Forest Service Road 15 was hit with extensive damage in January when heavy rains caused soil under the road to collapse, removing 180 feet of the paved road near milepost 2.

The closure for repairs is expected to last over a month. During that time, people will need to find alternative routes to access the road systems in the Deer Creek area.  The Lookout Campground, Lookout Boat Ramp, and Mona Campground will also be closed. In addition, there will be no public access to the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest; however, administrative access will be allowed. The Saddle Dam Boat Ramp will not be affected by this closure.

“We patched the road for summer use to allow forest visitors access to the popular sites nearby,” said Terry Baker, District Ranger. “Now that the height of the recreation season is over, we will begin construction in order to finish before the winter rains.”

Repair work

The repairs will include bringing in 12,000 cubic yards of rock to rebuild the embankment. Engineers say the rock will allow the underground springs to drain and reduce the risk of another collapse. After the repairs, the road will again be a paved, two-lane road.

The work is being funded through the Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) program for approximately $620,000. Weekly Bros, Inc. a construction company from Idleyd Park, OR, has been awarded the contract to complete the repairs.

For more info

For more information, contact the McKenzie River Ranger District at 541.822.3381 or visit the Willamette National Forest website www.fs.usda.gov/willamette and click on Current Conditions.

McKenzie River Reflections