ODOT held a meeting on June 2, and the Roosevelt Bridge was one of the agenda items. The ODOT commissioners unanimously approved a $5 million contract to repair the damage to the causewayfromrecentstorms. Construction is set to begin immediately. The bridge has been reduced to one lane to allow crews to work on the bridge.
The bridge will remain one lane daily from 6 a.m. till 10 p.m. with a pilot car to guide traffic through the construction zone.
The repair is going to be on the causeway, since, according toODOTDistrictTwo Engineer Anthony Echelle, the bridge didn't sustain any damage, just the earthen embankment on the eastern side “The erosion that occurred basically washed away some of the earth,” Echelle said. “The repair work is going to basically be bringing in a lot of large stones to place alongside the damaged causeway to reinforce that damaged slope.”
Even though the erosion has weakened the causeway, ODOT said the road is still safe to drive on with the changes to the traffic patterns they have made. Echelle said the repairs will keep everyone safe until the new bridge can be built “That’s the hope is that once we’re finished with this repair that it’ll sustain this until we get traffic on a new bridge,” Echelle said.
ODOT Director Tim Gatz said even though they are accelerating the new bridge project and are hoping to award that contract in early 2026, the new bridge is still years away. However, the repair construction is set to start right away.
“It’s starting virtually immediately,” Echelle said. “The contractors are making preparations to begin as soon as possible, maybe even tonight.”
The contract is slotted to last 60 days, but ODOT said they hope to finish the project sooner. While crews are are at work, drivers should be vigilant since the road will be down to one lane and speeds will be reduced to 35 mph.