Roadwork on Fishhole Creek Road to last three weeks

BLY, Ore. – Work begins Monday, August 5, to repair Forest Service Road 3790, also known as Fishhole Creek Road, on the Bly Ranger District of the Fremont-Winema National Forest.

For approximately three weeks, Forest Service roadcrews will be working on the first phase of road repairs.  The work will be Monday through Thursday between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Forest road managers plan to complete between .25 to .5 mile of repairs daily.  The work will be done on 3 miles of road, starting at the southern end and moving north to Oregon State Highway 140.

The first .6 mile of the road work is single-lane road and will have the largest traffic impacts.  Delays will be no more than 20 minutes.  It’s expected that this section will be completed within three days.

The remaining 2.4 miles of road is two-lane and, while there will still be stops, traffic delays will be much shorter.  In this section, traffic will be stopped briefly so the equipment operator can pause, allowing traffic to pass safely before resuming work.

“This project involves heavy equipment and employees on the road, which is more complex on the single-lane stretch.  We ask all drivers on Fishhole Creek Road during the next several weeks to slow down, be aware of their surroundings, watch for construction activity and help us maintain a safe work area,” said Forest Safety Officer Mike Cuff.

The work being done in the coming weeks is the first phase to repair the severely damaged road.  Special equipment will be used to mill the current asphalt surface, grinding it up and mixing it with the cinder base below. 

The resulting material will be shaped, compacted and rolled.  Approximately 3 inches of new aggregate rock material will be placed on the new road base, which will also be shaped, compacted and rolled to leave a smooth, compacted surface.

While improved, the resulting new gravel road is not intended to be the final product.

Forest road managers are working on a contract for paving the 3 mile stretch of road.

“We secured funding and were able to move forward with this project this week thanks to the availability of Forest Service roadcrews and equipment,” said Forest Recreation, Archaeology, Lands and Minerals Staff Officer Catherine Callaghan. 

“The challenge now is getting a paving contract in place and to get it scheduled.  The availability of the paving contractor and weather conditions will determine if the work gets completed this fall or needs to be pushed to next summer,” said Forest Transportation Planner and Road Manager Terry Orton. 

The age of the pavement and traffic levels accelerated the deterioration of Fishhole Creek Road over the past 5 to 10 years.  The asphalt has thinned and broken apart to the point the road was too damaged to patch.

“The first phase of the project and the resulting groomed gravel road will be a large improvement over the current condition of the road.  But this is temporary as we work on the paving contract and the additional construction work is scheduled,” said Bly and Lakeview District Ranger Mike Ramsey.

Despite the compaction, there will still be loose rocks and dirt until the paving work can be done.  As on all Forest Roads, drivers should travel at appropriate speeds for the road surface and conditions, allow plenty of space between vehicles and watch for hazards.

Press release provided from the Fremont-Winema National Forest.