Starting Thursday and continuing through Sunday, PBOT crews will implement full closures of West Burnside during daytime work hours, between SW Barnes Road and Skyline Blvd.
The closures are needed, so crews can bring in specialized equipment to remove material at risk of continuing to slide in an area affected by a landslide that occurred last Friday. The slide has continued to be active in recent days.
The road will be closed to all traffic from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Crews will open the westbound lane to travelers each day by about 3 p.m. Westbound travel is anticipated to be allowed from 3 p.m., and overnight, until the full closure resumes the following day.
The full closures will continue each day through Sunday.
PBOT crews are hoping to reopen the road to all travel in all directions on Monday, Feb. 3, but the work is weather dependent and the schedule could change.
The traveling public is advised to avoid the area, and if travel is needed, to follow a posted detour along SW Barnes Road and Skyline Blvd to the south of Mount Calvary Cemetery. During full closures, eastbound and westbound traffic will be directed to the detour route.
The landslide was first reported on Friday morning, and PBOT crews responded to close off the area to the public, remove dump truck loads of debris and build a catchment wall to make it safer. Periodic closures have been in place since Friday.
During inspections, engineers determined that debris had continued to fall from the slide last weekend. The slide remains active, with cracks at the top of the scarp that indicate a threat to public safety. In the coming days, PBOT crews will remove loose material from the top of the scarp.
On Tuesday, crews cleared more debris that had fallen from the slope and was blocking stormwater in the area. They installed a stormwater pipe to improve drainage during the coming work in the area.
The work through Sunday will remove debris at risk of falling from the landslide. Eventually, the landowner and PBOT will likely need to return to the area for permanent improvements to stabilize the area.