SHORTLY AFTER THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT WAS AWARDED TO PAVE BELTLINE HIGHWAY IN EUGENE, KNIFE RIVER APPROACHED STEVE, THE RESIDENT ENGINEER FOR ODOT, TO IDENTIFY WAYS TO IMPROVE SAFETY FOR BOTH WORKERS AND THE TRAVELING PUBLIC. STEVE WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE CONTRACTOR TO ENHANCE WORK ZONE TRAFFIC CONTROL PLANS, REROUTING TRAFFIC TO ONE SIDE OF THE DIVIDED HIGHWAY OVER SEVERAL WEEKENDS. THIS APPROACH ALLOWED CREWS TO COMPLETE MAJOR REPAVING OPERATIONS SEPARATED FROM LIVE TRAFFIC, REDUCING RISK AND IMPROVING SAFETY IN THE WORK ZONE.

AFTER THE WORK WAS COMPLETED, STEVE PARTNERED WITH KNIFE RIVER TO DEVELOP A DETAILED REPORT DOCUMENTING THE OPTIONS CONSIDERED, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAFFIC CONTROL, AND LESSONS LEARNED FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.