Oregon Department of Transportation work crews hope to remove debris and stabilize a hillside allowing two outside lanes of U.S. 26 near the Vista Ridge Tunnel to open by rush hour Wednesday.
An excavator began pulling away loose vegetation from the slide next to the westbound lanes shortly after 9:30 a.m. Debris blocked the lanes Tuesday afternoon about a mile west of tunnel. ODOT workers hope the lanes are open by early afternoon, spokeswoman Kimberly Dinwiddie said.
With a forecast calling for intense rain through Thursday, ODOT remains concerned about further slides at that area below Forest Park as well as other steep-sloped hot spots.
Landslides are a concern in several parts of the state, and flood watches are in place, says the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.
US 26 landslide cleared near Vista Ridge Tunnel
“As we’ve seen in the past few days, heavy rain can trigger landslides,” Ali Ryan Hansen, department communications director, said in a news release. “As the rain continues, so does the potential for landslides.”
“Flood hazards are accompanied by landslide hazards,” Bill Burns, the geology agency’s engineering geologist said in the release. “Be extremely cautious, and avoid areas where landslides are more likely to occur.”
The National Weather Service in Portland issued a flood watch from Wednesday afternoon through late Friday night for the Portland area, the north and central Oregon Coast and Coast Range, lower Columbia, the Cascade foothills, and the central and south Willamette Valley.
Flood watches are also in effect for many areas of southern and central Oregon and the southern Oregon Coast. Track all Oregon flood watches here.
Rain accumulations of a quarter to a half inch are possible Wednesday and again Thursday, the weather service said, before tapering off to a tenth to a quarter inch on Friday.
In the Coast Range, rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches are expected in the Willapa Hills and the North and Central Coast Range of Oregon. Rivers of particular concern for flooding include the Tualatin River in Washington County, the Pudding River in Clackamas and Marion counties and the Nehalem River in Clatsop and Tillamook counties.
–Allan Brettman
abrettman@oregonian.com
503-294-5900
@allanbrettman
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