Big fix set for troubled highway

“We’re installing a stormwater system to move water out of the soil,” ODOT spokesperson Angela Beers-Seydel said. “Less water in the area means the slide will move less, so we don’t have to repair U.S.101 as often. This project won’t stop movement, but should slow it down.”

A 1965 scientific study cited the Beverly Beach area as unique for its unstable geography.

“Mass movement just north of Yaquina Head is much more severe than erosion in areas of similar lithology and rock attitude,” concluded the authors of Coastal Landslides of Northern Oregon. “Convergence of wave energy is an additional erosional factor near headlands.”

Called the “Moolack Project” for another nearby creek, the project goal is to make the area more stable by improving drainage along Northeast 89th Court and Northeast Avery Street with the installation of two culverts. In the meantime, workers will lower the water level of a pond located at the top of the slide, uphill from the highway. Resident ODOT engineer Steve Schultz is in charge of the effort.

Typically, the stretch between mileposts 135.7 and 136.3 eats about $200,000 a year in repairs that can swallow up to 80 tons of asphalt in a single patch job.

“This is a slide that moves the roadbed — and anyone who drives through experiences the rollercoaster effect,” commented Beers-Seydel. “One can look to the side and see the effects on the old road to recognize the results if we did not do regular maintenance.”

Construction began this month and is expected to be completed in late spring. Travelers should watch for construction trucks entering and exiting Highway 101 around the Moolack parking area. There will be little other impact to traffic as most of the work will be done along 89th Court.