Oregon Department of Transportation workers and vehicles briefly clogged bridge traffic Friday morning on Highway 6 in Gales Creek, near the junction with Highway 8.
“We repaired some guard rail damage from a recent crash,” said David House, an ODOT spokesperson for the region. House said the lanes were fully reopened shortly before noon Friday.
Sharon Parker, a nearby resident (disclosure: the author’s mother) described debris on the roadway from what appeared to be a recent crash on the bridge and shared several photos of the ongoing roadwork Friday morning.
Built in 1956, the bridge is one of more than 20 bridges on Highway 6 from Tillamook to Banks.
According to 2023 data, the most recent available to this newspaper, the bridge is considered vulnerable in the case of an eventual Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or higher.
ODOT considers vulnerable bridges “subject to moderate to severe damage that renders the bridge unusable” in the face of such an earthquake.
The bridge deck was considered in good condition, while the superstructure, which supports the deck, and the substructure, which supports the superstructure and distributes loads to the ground, were rated in fair condition and in need of preventive maintenance.
ODOT also noted that the rail on the bridge does not meet modern standards and should be upgraded and that the bridge roadway is too narrow.
In 2023, ODOT acknowledged falling behind on bridge work.
“Bridge preventative maintenance actions are not occurring at a rate necessary to maintain current conditions”, the agency said in a report.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
