From ODOT - Avoiding impacts to basic services:

Construction of the Willamette River Bridge involves ODOT, Hamilton Construction Company and subcontractors, yet many other entities are affected.

The project site includes many utility services that our construction crews must be aware of: power lines, fiber optics communication lines, water lines, natural gas pipelines, local network copper and fiber optic cables, sewer lines, and overhead electric lines.

Before construction begins, we carefully plan how to minimize potential service disruptions to local customers by ensuring that utility lines are relocated or carefully protected.

On the Willamette River Bridge project, we’ve worked with the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB), Springfield Utility Board, Williams Gas Pipeline, Qwest, Comcast, the City of Eugene, and the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission. We’ve collaborated with them to identify potential conflicts between current service locations and construction of the project.

Throughout the project, once the conflicts are identified, we work with the utility companies to find a solution to relocate services. While most conflicts have been resolved at this point, coordination will continue through construction.

We appreciate the cooperation of the service providers, which has helped us keep our project on schedule.