Pacific Northwest 5 March 8, 2026

First Phase of $55.5M Oregon I-5 Widening Project Continues

By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT

Drivers on Oregon’s Interstate 5 south of Salem will soon get a break from a historic bottleneck when a new $55.5 million widening project is completed in the coming year.

Phase one of the project south of the state capital includes widening the southbound stretch of I-5 between milepost 249.5 and 248.9 — Kuebler and Delaney roads — from two lanes to three lanes, replacing and reconstructing two bridges and an on-ramp and adding a roundabout and new sound walls.

The Salem-based K&E Excavating is the project contractor.

“It will help eliminate a congestion point,” said Derek Moore, resident engineer. “I-5 is three lanes all the way from Portland through Salem. As you leave Salem, it narrows down to two lanes, then it widens to three lanes a bit, and then back to two. This project takes out that section of two lanes, so it stays three lanes longer. The key point is that there are some pretty steep hills through there, and you get trucks trying to pass each other, and it slows down things for everybody.”

Work on the project began in August 2024, with traffic management on the interstate the major concern. “We were fortunate that there was a kind of a bypass, a detour that we were able to use, so we're able to shift traffic away from where the majority of the work is happening,” Moore said.

The detour is on an old I-5 alignment that previously served as an exit/entrance ramp. Crews were able to upgrade the ramp so it

As part of the I-5 widening project from

could be used as part of the detour, Moore said. “So now, we're able to put northbound traffic onto that and put southbound traffic onto the old northbound, so there’s a crossover for southbound traffic, and that left us with the southbound alignment free from traffic, so you can do all the work there more efficiently.”

The location sees approximately 64,000 vehicles in both directions daily, said Mindy McCartt, an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) public information officer. Traffic was often brought to a standstill by the bottleneck, combined with the trucks attempting to climb the hill.

Phase one of the project south of the state capital includes widening the southbound stretch of I-5 between milepost 249.5 and 248.9 -- Kuebler and Delaney roads — from two lanes to three lanes. see WIDENING page 6

Kent, WA

(800) 669-2425

Rochester, WA (800) 304-4421

Spokane, WA (800) 541-0754

Boise, ID (800) 221-5211

Pocatello, ID (800) 829-4450

Belgrade, MT (800) 422-9976

Billings, MT (800) 735-2589

Columbia Falls, MT (800) 434-4190

Missoula, MT (800) 332-1617

Bend, OR (800) 451-0269

Eugene, OR (800) 826-9811

Portland, OR (800) 950-7779

Annual Oregon Logging Conference Draws Large Crowd

The 88th Annual Oregon Logging Conference (OLC), which celebrated the theme of “Responsible Forestry Today, Healthy Forests Tomorrow,” took place from Feb. 1921, 2026, at the Lane Events Center and Fairgrounds in Eugene, Ore.

Jacqueline Buchanan, regional forester for the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific NW Region 6, delivered the keynote address on Feb. 19.

Thousands of people attended the conference, which featured equipment displays and offered plenty of seminars and networking opportunities for industry professionals. Family Day on Feb. 21 included hands-on activities and virtual forest tours, with free public admission.

see LOGGING page 10

The J. Stout Auctions team of (L-R) Chris Bright, Ashley Farrar and Brian Davis connected with logging professionals on the show floor, highlighting heavy equipment and transportation assets available through its nationwide auction platform.

(L-R): Doug Basler (sales), Jeff Ford (vice president of sales) and Jordan Fontaine (marketing) of Powerscreen of Washington showcase the KOBELCO ED160 Blade Runner, which has a versatile six-way blade that allows operators to angle, tilt and push material precisely.

The Modern Machinery team showcases a TimberPro, giving contractors a close-up look at rugged performance and high-production logging capabilities.

Triad Machinery’s indoor and outdoor displays drew crowds as it featured heavy-duty Link-Belt excavators and rugged TigerCat machines built for logging and material handling in challenging conditions.

Bryce Haddock, Renay Yochum, Carol Lux and Scott Bride of Peters & Keats Equipment Inc. met with contractors to display their equipment lineup, highlight dealer support services and discuss logging operation solutions.

Kerby McGinnis represents Topcon Positioning Systems, demonstrating machine control and positioning technology designed to improve accuracy and efficiency in the field.

Next Gen Crawler Excavators

Idaho Project Advances Cleanup With Expanded Storage

Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) construction crews have completed a new 20,000-sq.-ft. building, more than doubling the current storage capacity for waste treated at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced on Jan. 27. 2026.

The Idaho Environmental Coalition LLC is the prime contractor on the project.

The ICP is a Department of Energy environmental remediation effort at the 890-sq.mi. Idaho National Laboratory site that handles radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel and decommissions old facilities. The contractor holds a 10-year, $6.4 billion contract.

Since beginning radiological operations in April 2023, IWTU has converted more than 279,000 gal. of radioactive liquid sodium-bearing waste to a safer, granular solid using steam-reforming technology. Once in a dried form, the waste is transferred to stainless steel canisters and placed in concrete vaults. Vaults are then transported to two buildings for storage, including the new one recently built.

IWTU is on track to resume waste treatment operations this spring, following completion of scheduled maintenance.

The Idaho Cleanup Project’s construction of a second storage building increases the storage capacity at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit to 84 total vaults for safely storing 1,344 canisters of treated sodium-bearing waste.

forced concrete, the new structure connects with the existing storage building by a breezeway. Construction of the new storage building began in 2023 and was completed in early September 2025 at an estimated cost of $23 million. In December, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management received authorization from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to begin storing IWTU-treated waste in the building.

Sodium-bearing liquid waste being treated at IWTU was generated during decontamination activities following historic spent nuclear fuel reprocessing runs, which ended at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center in 1992. More than 850,000 gal. of liquid waste from those operations were transferred to three underground stainless steel storage tanks.

During this maintenance pause, IWTU engineers successfully replaced the granulated activated carbon beds, which remove mercury during radiological operations, and swapped out the process gas filter bundles. Gases from the facility's primary reaction vessel are filtered through 18 filter bundles comprised of 342 individual filters. They also conducted minor maintenance operations in the run-up to restart.

an additional 48 vaults for a combined capacity of 84 concrete vaults consisting of 1,344 canisters. Treated sodium-bearing waste will be safely stored in the two buildings until a national geologic repository is available for permanent disposal.

The new storage building adds space for

The second storage building has the same stringent design features and operational requirements as the existing storage building. Constructed of structural steel and rein-

Treatment of the liquid waste is required by the Site Treatment Plan, which requires 15 percent of the liquid waste to be treated annually based on a three-year running average. Once the three tanks are emptied, they and an unused spare tank will be washed, grouted and closed under federal regulations. The site of the underground tanks will then be capped and closed under the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

I-5 Widening Project Includes Replacing Two Bridges

from page 1

“One of the ways I describe this particular area is you have to keep commerce moving, especially on I-5,” McCartt said. “Commerce is money for the state, and we've got to keep goods and services and people moving through the state, and I-5 is an artery for the state.

“The other thing I like to say is, if you ask an engineer how long it's going to take a bridge, they're going to give you a specific timeline. Then, you tell them they can’t shut down traffic, and they triple that number. It's not always just about how long it takes to build the thing; it's how long it takes to build the thing without disrupting the traffic and the movement within Oregon.”

Since the start, construction crews with K&E Excavating have completed most of the widening, demolished and replaced the bridge over Commercial Street and are building the replacement Battle Creek Bridge.

“It's a single-span girder bridge,” Moore said. “We just got done setting all the girders from one end to the other, so they span over I-5. We did three nighttime closures of I-5 while we were setting the beams, sending traffic on a detour route through Salem. That’s the majority of the work right now. The bridge is a good winter work because it’s not highly dependent on weather.”

Equipment on the project includes a LinkBelt RTC-80100, as well as a Grove GMK6350 all-terrain crane.

Coming up, crews will finish work on the Battle Creek Bridge, bring in materials to raise the elevation for a new roundabout at

Multiple cranes move in coordinated formation to lift 160-ft. bridge support beams and place them over Interstate 5.

the Battle Creek Road SE and Wiltsey Street SE intersection and finish paving.

“Once that's done, we'll switch southbound traffic back to where it'll be permanently northbound, I-5 will open without traffic and we’ll be able to pave and do some repairs through permanent northbound alignment while there's no traffic on it,”

Moore said.

The major portions of the project are scheduled for completion in the summer of 2026, with the official completion set for the spring of 2027. A second phase for the northbound lanes is planned but unfunded.  CEG

(All photos courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation.)

COLUSA

1960 Highway y 20

Colusa, CA 95932

DIXON

793 N First Street

Dixon CA95620

Phone: (9916) 649-00

DOS PALOS

2173 Blossom Street

Dos Palos, CA 93620

Phone: (209) 392-216

MERCED

600 S. State Highway y Merced, CA 95341

Phone: (209) 383-58

REDDING

2535 Ellis Street

Redding, C 96001

Phone: (530) 458-216

Phone: (530) 245-9000

STOCKTON

1340 W. Charter Way y

Stockton, C 95206

Phone: (209) 944-5500

STRATTFORD

20280 Main St.

Stratford, CA 93266

Phone: (559) 947-3301

TURLOCK

1215 West Glenwoo Avve

Tuurlock, C 95380-5703

Phone: (209) 634-1777

827 Nort Teehama St

Willows, CA 95988

Phone: (530) 934-3382

YUBA CITY

3056 Colusa Highway y Yuba City CA 95993

Phone: (530) 923-7675

1455 Glendale Avve. Sparks, NV 89431

Phone: (775) 358-5000

HARRISBURG

230 Sommerville Avvenue

Harrisburg, O 974446 Phone: (541) 995-2262

HILLSBORO

185 W Main St. Ext.

Hillsboro, O 97123

Phone: (503) 648-4178

MADRAS

36 NW A Street

Madras, OR 977441

Phone: (541) 475-2253

(503) 981-0151

LOGGING from page 6

The event, which was blessed with good weather, showcased hundreds of indoor and outdoor vendors, featuring the latest in logging, construction and trucking equipment. The event included a mill tour of Sierra Pacific in Noti.  CEG (All photographs in this article are Copyright 2026 Construction Equipment Guide. All Rights Reserved.)

OLC Celebrates Responsible Forestry Today, Healthy Forests Tomorrow