A contractor has finished work in repairing a small portion of U.S. Highway 101 at Brays Point, six miles south of Yachats, and both lanes of the road are open without flaggers.
The highway had either been closed or flagged for one-way traffic since late January when a portion of the road began failing and then collapsed Feb. 5. When it did collapse, it sent a 28-ton drilling rig and its operator 150 feet down the rocky cliff to the ocean’s edge.
Work was finished – except for a small bit of paving around the guardrails to be done this summer – Wednesday evening, and the road opened for two-way traffic, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Cost of the repair and equipment rescue is estimated at $425,000.
Oregon OSHA has opened an investigation, as is required, into the Feb. 5 accident. Austin Miller, 28, of Spencer, Iowa, an employee of GeoStabilization International of Colorado, survived the fall with only bumps and bruises after being treated overnight at Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence.
Go here to see a drone video of the equipment removal from the Oregon Department of Transportation.
