‘Plan ahead’ for OR 217 southbound lane closures this weekend, ODOT says

BEAVERTON, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon Department of Transportation is preparing to close all southbound lanes of OR 217 for the entire weekend, as part of the Auxiliary Lanes Project.

The closure will start at 9 p.m. Friday night and run until Monday morning at 5 a.m. Drivers will be forced to exit at Canyon Road, and the closure will run until 99W, nearly five miles. The northbound lanes will stay open.

ODOT is closing it so they can pave all the lanes through the weekend in what they’re calling a big step towards the finish line of the years-long project. But they’re warning drivers with plans to travel on 217 to plan ahead.

“Plan for an alternate route that we recommend, I-5, I-405, and 26,” ODOT Public Information Officer David House said. “So you want to plan more time into that. You may have, depending on where you’re traveling to or from, you may have a different route in mind, but plan ahead because it will take longer than the usual trip during the weekend closure.”

This is the first of four weekend-long closures over the next month. House said there could be a fifth. But the lanes still will not be fully ready to open.

“First, we got to let the, the new surface cure,” he said. “We’ll have temporary markers in the, in the pavement, and then eventually, we’ll be able to start opening those lanes, in a few weeks after they’ve been paved.”

The Beaverton Police Department will have officers conducting extra patrols in the area, keeping it under control. Dominique Hollman works at Hotspot Fireplace on Canyon Road. She said she is glad to hear extra officers will be out, because the area is already known for rough traffic even when the freeway is open.

“That’s going to make it a little chaotic for anybody trying to get in and out. Definitely going to have to plan ahead because, you know, there’s going to be some traffic. So time properly.”

House said if drivers need to get to specific streets near the closure, they are not recommending other detours.

“The reason for that is it just depends on where you are and where you’re going, what time of day it is,” he said. “You know, I think that’s, people need to choose their own routes for the most part.”

He said to check TripCheck for the latest information about the closure. ODOT is on schedule to finish the project by the end of December.