I-5 exit near UO reopens today

Northbound Interstate 5 motorists looking to get quickly to the University of Oregon or central Eugene can revert to their old routine starting today.

After 12 weeks of closure, Exit 192, the UO/downtown Eugene exit off I-5 to Franklin Boulevard, is scheduled to reopen by 6 a.m.

During the closure, drivers have had to detour off the freeway and onto Glenwood Boulevard to reach westbound Franklin Boulevard.

The exit was closed on April 12 so crews working on the I-5 replacement bridge over the Willamette River could construct a base support for a bridge that will span the freeway when the $187 million project is completed in 2013.

Glenwood Boulevard is not through serving as a detour route during the state Department of Transportation project, however.

The southbound ramp leading from Franklin Boulevard onto I-5 was closed June 21 and will remain closed until November. To get to I-5 southbound, drivers must continue east on Franklin and take a right on Glenwood to connect to the freeway.

“Over the next couple of years, there will be other closures, unfortunately,” ODOT spokesman Lou Torres said.

“But it’s going to be a beautiful addition to the community,” he said of the new bridge that will be named Whilamut Passage if a community advisory group’s proposal is accepted by local government and approved by ODOT.

The southbound on-ramp to I-5 from Franklin is closed so crews can build a sound wall and realign the ramp with the new bridge.

Local traffic access to Riverview Street remains open throughout the closure.

Motorists using the detour to Glenwood Boulevard should watch for lane closures on Franklin Boulevard as they pass under I-5. Workers are preparing for pile driving and construction of bridge falsework.