Westbound Exit 353 off-ramp near Huntington closes for paving work

The westbound Exit 353 off-ramp to U.S. 30 near Huntington was scheduled to close June 23 through June 26, cutting off one of the main access points on Interstate 84 for Baker County drivers, freight haulers and emergency traffic moving through the corridor.

The closure was part of the Farewell Bend - N. Fork Jacobsen Gulch Construction Phase in Region 5, which stretches along I-84 from milepost 352 at the Baker-Malheur county line to milepost 368, about 3.5 miles northwest of Exit 371 to Stanton Boulevard. Crews were repaving 16 miles of freeway, rebuilding the approaches that connect I-84 to the Olds Ferry Interchange Bridge at milepost 356, and updating the weigh-in-motion system at the Farewell Bend Port of Entry.

Traffic already had been shifted to the eastbound side of I-84 between Exit 353 and Exit 356. Daytime shoulder closures were in place in both directions between mileposts 352.5 and 356.5, and lane closures in the left and passing lanes were occurring between mileposts 359 and 361 for median work. The westbound Exit 356 on-ramp from OR 201 was also closed through July 3.

The June 23-26 Exit 353 closure had originally been planned for June 15-18, and traffic was expected to switch to the eastbound lanes on July 8. The entire project is a two-year job scheduled for completion by Oct. 31, 2027.

The highway section was paved in 2003 and now needs extensive repairs because of its age. The new weigh-in-motion system will reduce the number of vehicles that must be weighed at the Farewell Bend Port of Entry, easing congestion on I-84 and helping the Commerce and Compliance Division process more traffic efficiently.