ODOT chip seal project to close lanes on Cove Highway in Union County
Cove Highway lane closures start July 6, with pilot cars, loose gravel and delays of up to 20 minutes between La Grande, Cove and Union.
ODOT will start a summer chip seal project July 6 that will slow traffic on Cove Highway and other roads in Union and Baker counties, with daytime lane closures, pilot cars, flaggers and reduced speed limits expected along the work zones. The biggest local impact will fall on OR 237-A, the stretch between Conley Road and Bryan Street in Union, where delays could ripple through commutes, deliveries, farm traffic and summer travel between La Grande, Cove and Union.
On OR 237-A, the work runs from milepost 11 to milepost 21.5, a section through the heart of the Cove Highway corridor. A separate segment on OR 203-A runs from the westbound Exit 265 off-ramp to Godley Road, mileposts 6 to 15. Each section should take about a week, and all chip seal work is expected to be finished by the last week in July.
The work will start on OR 203-A, then move to OR 237-A and finish on OR 7 in Baker County. The OR 7 portion is expected to begin in mid-July and wrap up by the end of July. Striping crews will return later in the summer, and all project activities are scheduled to be done by the end of August.
Chip seal spreads emulsified oil, covers it with rock chips and presses the material into place with rollers. It is a lower-cost alternative to an asphalt overlay and helps preserve and extend the useful life of the existing highway surface. Highway preservation funds are limited, so chip seal lets more pavement miles stay in good condition.
Drivers on the Cove Highway corridor should expect loose gravel for several days after chip seal work, and shoulders may be temporarily unusable. Bicyclists may need to follow pilot cars through the work area, and motorists should slow down, leave extra space and use TripCheck before traveling. Delays could reach 20 minutes.
The Union County project is part of ODOT’s Region 5 chip seal program, which also includes OR 7 in Baker County, U.S. 26 in Grant and Malheur counties, U.S. 95 in Malheur County and OR 11 in Umatilla County. ODOT had previously canceled similar Union County chip seal work in 2025 because of funding challenges.
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