By Jim Redden
North and Northeast Portland businesses are bracing for disruptions caused by the planned five-week closure of the southbound lanes of I-5 through the Rose Quarter starting on Friday, Sept. 11.
The project is part of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. Work will include repairing and resurfacing all of the southbound lanes between I-405 and I-84.
Much of the traffic is expected to divert to such already busy commercial streets as North Greely Avenue, North Interstate Avenue, North Mississippi Avenue, North Vancouver Avenue, North/Northeast Broadway, Northeast 15th Avenue, Northeast 33rd Avenue, and Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
According to local news reporters, both small and large businesses are worried about losing customers and having deliveries stuck in traffic.
For some business owners, the uncertainty centers on whether drivers using neighborhood streets as alternate routes will stop to shop or simply continue through the area, KATU-News reported.
“We just have to go with the flow and hope that people make their way here still,” said Stacee Wion, the owner of Spielwerk Toy at 3808 N Williams Ave,
Marty Lemke, the owner of Circle Round on North Williams Avenue, told KATU-News that some regular customers have already expressed concern about navigating the area during construction.
“We’ve had a few people say they’re not looking forward to making the journey over here in the next month or two,” Lemke said.
Kay Newell, the owner of Sunlan Lighting on Mississippi Avenue, told KPTV-12 News the extra traffic could make an existing parking problem even worse. She worries drivers using Mississippi as a detour will simply pass through, while regular customers may stay away to avoid the congestion.
At Daimler Truck North America, how much flexibility workers get will depend on their job, The Oregon/OregonLive.com reported.
Most of the company’s roughly 3,000 Oregon employees work on Swan Isalnd, where Daimler expects the closure to lengthen commutes. Workers who can do their jobs remotely may work from home more often or shift their hours to avoid peak traffic, spokesperson Robert Sterling said.
Kaiser Permanente expects some of its biggest disruptions at its Kaiser Permanenteon North Interstate Avenue, just north of the Rose Quarter, and two Portland dental offices, where both employees and patients could face longer trips, The Oregonian/OregonLive.com reported.
“We know the upcoming closure will create challenges for people traveling throughout the region, including our members coming to appointments and our employees commuting to provide care,” Kaiser spokesperson Kimberly Mounts said.
According to ODOT, about 120,000 vehicles travel through the two-mile stretch of I-5 every day, including nearly 12,000 trucks carrying more than $100 million worth of goods. ODOT is asking commuters to avoind the area by working from home, shifting their hours, taking public transit or using another route.
More information for businesses is available at https://i5rosequarter.org/biztoolkit.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation has launched a “Shift Your Trip” campaign, encouraging Portland drivers to change their commute times, work from home or use public transit during the multi-week project. It can be found at portland.gov/transportation/shift.
“It’s going to be a problem for the commuters and those that are trying to go from Vancouver down to visit us and back,” Newell said.
This is a developing story. Check northpeninsulareview.com for updates.