Repair of the Gregory Slide at milepost 303, located south of Port Orford on U.S. Highway 101, has begun with a May 25 deadline to rebuild both travel lanes.

“Our goal is to restore two travel lanes before Memorial Day,” District Manager Ray Cranston said in a press release. “Summer tourism is a key industry for Oregon's South Coast and Memorial Day is traditionally seen as the start of the summer travel season.”

Contractor Johnny Cat Inc. of Jacksonville was the successful bidder at $3.8 million.

Work will entail building a temporary detour road that will provide a single lane of traffic controlled by flaggers. Once the detour is in place, material removal will begin. The contractor will replace the existing culvert beneath the highway and replace the base material.

Man-made fill material removed from the slide beneath the highway will be transferred south to an Oregon Department of Transportation disposal site. The remainder of the fill - all-natural material made of local soils - will be moved toward the beach under an emergency permit issued by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

The contractor will be working day and night shifts Monday through Friday with occasional work on Saturdays.

The Gregory Slide was reported at 3:29 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 30. ODOT managed to keep a single lane of traffic open before the entire highway was closed later that night for safety.

Road condition updates are available online at www.Tripcheck.com or by calling 511 or (800) 977-ODOT (6368). Those who are calling from outside of Oregon can call (503) 588-2941.