Last fall, we closed the northbound off-ramp from Interstate 5 to Franklin Boulevard. The closure is necessary for construction of the new bridge overhead and for rebuilding the ramp itself.
When the ramp reopens in October 2012, you’ll notice some major changes. These include:
- A higher elevation of I-5 south of the Willamette River to align it with the new arch bridges, which are taller and stronger than the old bridges they replaced.
- A new Franklin Boulevard off-ramp, raised 5 to 8 feet to align it with the higher northbound freeway lanes.
- Several new retaining walls on either side of the Franklin Boulevard off-ramp that support the fill material needed to raise the ramp and the freeway lanes.
Here is a sneak preview of the two types of retaining walls you will see.
Soldier pile retaining walls are built with steel H-piles driven into the ground and precast concrete panels set in the pile flanges. This wall is on the north side of the Franklin Boulevard off-ramp, underneath the two new I-5 bridges.
This soldier pile retaining wall along the eastern side of the ramp near I-5 on the south end is topped by a concrete cap and metal fence.
This mechanically stabilized earth retaining wall stands on the west side of the northbound I-5 off-ramp to Franklin Boulevard. It supports the fill material that forms the bed of the roadway. This type of wall is a series of interlocking precast concrete panels held in place with steel rods connecting back into the fill material placed behind the wall.
With the new retaining walls nearing completion, crews are now placing fill material to raise the northbound freeway and Franklin Boulevard off-ramp to the correct height. They will finish the off-ramp with paving, striping and drainage catch areas for stormwater runoff. The runoff will be treated in nearby bioswales that use native plants to filter the water before it enters the local watershed.
The new northbound I-5 off-ramp to Franklin Boulevard will reopen to traffic by October 2013.
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