Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers. As we receive questions throughout the project, this list will be updated.
If you have a question about the project, please email it to Project Manager Megan Messmer at megan.messmer@ci.florence.or.us.
The traffic signal at Hwy 101 and Rhododendron Drive has been switched over to a timer. It will be on the timer throughout the majority of construction as they need to impact the roadway where the sensors are located.
The traffic signal at Hwy 101 and Hwy 126 will switch over from the traffic sensor loops in the roadway to a radar sensor in late March/early April.
The City is working with local organizations and businesses to develop alternate parking options for businesses that solely rely on the on-street parking. Stay tuned as this will be announced when it is available for use.
During construction, some streets may say "Road Closed to Thru Traffic." These streets can still be used to access the businesses along the streets, but are closed at the highway. Drivers will not be able to enter or exit the highway from these streets, but can use for business access.
Crews from Alex Hodge Construction and their subcontractors will generally work Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 3:30 pm. There will be times where there are variations in this work schedule due to the nature of the work. Night work will be performed when work needs to cross the highway.
No. When the contractor has cones blocking the outer travel lane and parking area, then parking is prohibited. It is an active construction site even when we don't see the contractors. There are hazards along the roadway in the closed off areas. Please do not drive through gaps in the cones to park.
Yes! The City has created a Business Toolkit with printable brochures and flyers. The City also has several items available to businesses that can be requested.
Visit the Business Toolkit at www.ci.florence.or.us/urbanrenewal/revision-florence-business-toolkit.
Business access in the corridor during construction is indicated by blue "Business Access" signs and the driveway access points are lined in blue cones in order to provide easier visibility.
The Rhododendron Festival has been incorporated into the ReVision Florence project timeline. The contractor will not be performing work Thursday, May 16th through Sunday, May 19th. Prior to that time, the construction area will be cleaned up for the festival activities.
For full details, visit www.ci.florence.or.us/citymanager/revision-florence-construction-impacts-rhody-days.
For more information on the Rhododendron Festival florencechamber.com/annual-events/rhody-festival-2.
The blue traffic cones indicate business access in the corridor during construction. Blue signs are also in place that state "Business Access" where the driveway access points are lined in blue cones in order to provide easier visibility.
Alex Hodge Construction (AHC) out of Bend, Oregon, is performing the work. ODOT is managing the construction contract with AHC.
The City of Florence will maintain the landscaping throughout the project area. Irrigation will be installed with the project prior to plantings. The cost of maintenance has been built into the City's long range financial planning.
The contractor has placed cones indicating where there are travel lane and parking closures. The corridor is an active construction site. The cones and barricades indicate areas where the public is not able to be during construction, whether the contractor is on site or not. There may be hazards in the coned off area for vehicles, bicyclists, or pedestrians. It would also be hazardous to have cars merging between one and two lanes along the corridor if the cones did not run the length of the project area.
They have also established temporary pedestrian access throughout the project area with cones and barricades. These will remain in place as long as they are working in those area. During the project, the contractor has to maintain ADA accessible pedestrian access. It would greatly delay the project to take these down and set them up in areas where it may be possible. In general, the pedestrian access would not be ADA compliant due to the construction if they removed the temporary access.
The existing cross slope of US101 is too steep in several locations, particularly on the west side. In order to address this, the highway cross slope is being reduce and therefore the new curb and sidewalk is being installed higher than existing to accommodate the new highway grade. There is also a 1 inch overlay on US101, which also affects the grades.
In a lot of cases, the existing curb height and sidewalk slopes are non-standard, so when they replaced to standard, it just won’t match at the back of walk. Same with the driveways.
It varies block by block, but the west side of US101 has the biggest issues. The east side will generally match closer, though there will still be some grade differences.
We are not replacing the sidewalk on OR126, so the sidewalk grades will not change.
The original concept was to perform the construction work at night to reduce the need to close lanes on the highways. When the project went to bid the first time these restrictions on daytime work and lane closures, among other items, resulted in construction bids that were approximately $2 million above the available funds.
The City and ODOT worked to re-scope the requirements on the contractor regarding when and how the work was to be completed. In addition to the construction logistics update, the City and ODOT also combined the streetscape and paving with the hopes of achieving economies of scale between the two projects, and updated some of the project elements. With these updates, the second round of bidding resulted in the bid from Alex Hodge Construction that was within our combined project budget for the streetscape and paving.
Allowing the contractor to close lanes during the day has reduced the cost of construction by eliminating several logistic items that would be needed to perform the work at night when it is dark.
Yes, turning radiuses were evaluated in the early stages of the design. There are fairly strict requirements from ODOT for the highway to allow large trucks to be able to enter and exit onto side streets. These were designed to allow firetrucks, school buses, box trucks, and semi-trucks ingress and egress. City staff visited businesses with heavy large vehicle traffic to ensure we weren't missing any vehicle types that frequent their businesses. Their comments and feedback were included in the design.
The majority of the driveways will stay the same width, with a few exceptions. All driveways will be in compliance with the Access Management Plan for Highway 101 in Downtown Florence that was approved by the City and ODOT in 2002. There were some driveways that were outlined to be removed in the Plan that will remain due to the current nature of the corridor. Again, over the past several years staff have reached out to property owners to discuss their access off the highway, whether they were to change or remain the same.
Throughout the project design, the landscape architect has worked to balance the visual needs of businesses with the height requirements from the Oregon Department of Transportation for clearance. The architect has driven the corridor many times to do site visits and see how the landscaping may impact the the visual clearance from the highway.
Part of the landscaping requirements outline the placement of plants to be reviewed onsite with the landscaper and landscape architect prior to actual planting. This will allow them to see the individual plants and trees in context to ensure the needs are being met.
If your have a business that has a specific concern, please contact Project Manager Megan Messmer at megan.messmer@ci.florence.or.us.
