The Oregon Department of Transportation will begin construction Friday, Aug. 10, to repair two bridges outside the Portland area. Heavy trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds or with axle weights more than 34,000 lbs. for tandem axles and 20,000 lbs. for single axles will be detoured.

The Williamette River Bridge on Oregon 219 south of Newberg and the Yamhill River Bridge on Oregon 18 near Dayton will be off limits to heavy trucks while ODOT repairs cracks in reinforced concrete girders that support the approach spans for each bridge. The bridges will remain open to commercial trucks with gross weights up to 80,000 lbs., including empties.

Repair work on the Yamhill River Bridge is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. Work on the Williamette River Bridge is expected to be complete by February 2002.

During construction, heavy-haul trucks are asked to detour around the Yamhill River Bridge using Oregon 99W between Dayton and McMinnville. The Willamette River Bridge detour is along Interstate 5, Oregon 217 and Oregon 99W through Newberg. To view a map of the detours visit www.odot.state.or.us/comm/news/2001072702.htm.