News

Over the past two months, crews have been working hard to make I-5 stronger and safer in the event of an earthquake. 

Crews work on removing lead paint on I-5 bridge supporting structures.

To make these bridges resilient to earthquakes, they need to be reinforced to withstand both forward-backward movement and side-to-side movement. These critical upgrades will ensure that I-5 will remain functional in case of a seismic event.

To address forward-backward movement, crews are installing cables stretching between the beams under the roadway and supporting cement columns. These cables will tie the beams to the columns to make sure that the beams will not shift during an earthquake and fall off the column.

The team must first scan the cement to identify where it is safe to drill into the concrete to reduce chances of damage to the rebar inside. Then they drill into the concrete to anchor the bolts for the cable restrainer that hold the beams in place.

The cables will then be attached to the beams supporting the I-5 bridge deck using bolts. For workers to safely install the bolts on I-5 supporting beams, lead paint on the beams must first be removed.

To address side-to-side movement, the project will be replacing the existing cross bracing under I-5. The cross bracing helps to prevent the beams from tipping sideways during an earthquake event. The new cross bracing will meet updated earthquake standards.

Over the coming months, additional closures will occur on NE Oregon St and NE Lloyd Blvd for crews to install cables and cross bracing under I-5.