Expansion joint pops up on I-5, expect lengthy delays
PORTLAND, Ore. - An expansion joint popped up Friday morning on Interstate 5 near the Fremont Bridge and traffic will be impacted while repair work gets under way.
The joint, about a 10- to 12-foot section, is in the left lane of northbound I-5 near milepost 302.
Oregon Department of Transportation crews are working on repairs. At this point there is no estimate on when the work will be done.
Northbound traffic has been reduced to one lane. Vehicles are getting through but it's slow going. Drivers should find an alternate route because delays are expected to be lengthy.
This kind of highway crumbling will continue as long as our liberal car hating governor Kitzhaber, Sam Adams and the rest of their cohorts in the city council and Metro funnel the majority of [our] tax dollars into bicycle accessories and light rail train projects. They cry for 'infrastructure' and 'bridge repair' money while shoveling hundreds of millions into unwanted trains that less than 5% of the public will ever use.
 @last boyscout before you insert your own foot in mouth have you even bothered to take public transportation? Most likely NOT!!! The Max is almost always jammed pack like a sardine can during the peak rush hr morning and evening with squeezing room only! They need to help the Bus System first tho before they put a dime more into the Max as Most of the buses are also squeezing room only the 72, 6, 9, and 12 are the worst! I just wish Washington would help out more when it comes to public transportation considering how many people commute between Washington and Oregon. But I will agree with you on this... Even tho I ride a bike most of the time I think they need to stop wasting money on everything bikes...
 @Justice Marie Why would I 'bother' to use public transportation? I've made decisions in my life as to make the usage of public transportation unnecessary. I will choose to where and when I will travel. And I choose the freedom of traveling in my own vehicle, and to enjoy all of the amenities of that personal freedom. I'd rather not travel as human freight.Â
 @Justice Marie A rough statistic is 12% ride [LIGHT RAIL]. Not putting that much of my money into my gas tank is a matter of planning. I try not to live a lifestyle that I cannot afford.
 @last boyscout then don't assume that only 5% of the public use this system if you yourself don't even know what it is like to not be able to afford the luxuries of putting $60-$80 in your tank a week for gas!
 @last boyscout plus the street car is just pointless at this point! Its just as jam packed as the Max is but they cant even get scheduling right! You wait at a stop for ANY of the street cars to come and your 5min wait ends up being almost a 45min wait and dont bother relying on the times at ANY of the shelters. It will say one is coming in 2mins and another is coming in 15mins yet you are waiting close to half hr before the one that was suppose to be there 2 mins ago even shows up!
Joints are popping up? Where's Cheech and Chong when you need them?
Ha ha ha ha ha! Isn't it great that we have such amazing infrastructure?
There's another expansion joint and/or pothole they should examine; its where I-84 starts at the I-5 junction and goes east (end of the ramp). It really slams my car!
 @portlandborn83Â
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Check out ODOTs plan for those interchanges.
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Going east on I-84 and interchanging with I-5, will have different lane marking and be repaved.
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Going north or south on I-5 and interchanging with I-84 will get repaving and possible grade changes.
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Just expansion joints doing what they do, expand! LOL
I hate when that happens!
That part of the road gets NO love.
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In all my years, I have not seen it paved. That expansion joint might have been last touched by a human 30 years ago.
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Makes me wonder what the concrete is like. Will it stand up for a long period of time, or erode quickly as well?
 @washcomom It will stand up for many years, so long as the oatmeal doesn't get wet.
That is nothing that a little Bondo putty and some duct tape cant fix.
 @Dirtman JB Weld would be much better!
@Dirtman Mix that Bondo with some steel wool and get the sander out.
Sadly, that's all the state can probably afford for that repair.....with all that money going towards the new Sellwood bridge and the I-5 bridge, not a lot left.
 @vwfreak If they stopped stealing the taxes using the Urban Renewal loop hole we would have plenty of money.
That joint is smoked.