ODOT to start I-84 striping project in Union County next week

Drivers on Interstate 84 between Huntington and La Grande should expect lane and shoulder closures as the Oregon Department of Transportation begins a $1.8 million striping project meant to restore visibility on one of eastern Oregon’s busiest freight routes.

ODOT said the durable striping work is scheduled to start the week of May 4 and should be finished by mid-June. Crews plan to begin near milepost 345 and move west across sections of Baker, Umatilla and Union counties, with a local media advisory warning that lane and shoulder closures are expected near Huntington as the work gets underway.

For Union County, the clearest pinch points are the stretch from Exit 248 at Spring Creek Road to Exit 259 at U.S. 30, along with the Ladd Canyon area between Exit 270 and Exit 273. ODOT identifies the route as I-84 between La Grande and Pendleton, a corridor that carries commuters, farm traffic and long-haul freight through weather that can quickly erase pavement markings.

The agency says the project is aimed at replacing faded road lines worn down by eastern Oregon winters, especially from snowplows and deicer chemicals. ODOT describes the work as high-performance pavement marking in high-traffic areas that need frequent maintenance, a reminder that what looks like routine striping can affect crash prevention, night visibility and how reliably trucks can move through the corridor.

The contract was awarded Jan. 8, 2026, under project key number 22951 and contract number C15636, to Hicks Striping & Curbing, LLC, of Salem. A project posting listed about 1,200,000 feet of pavement marking, along with temporary traffic control that includes a portable changeable-message sign, a speed-radar trailer and construction surveying. That same posting listed a completion time of Aug. 31, 2026.

ODOT has not posted traffic impacts on the project page yet, but the work is already listed among upcoming 2026 projects discussed by the ODOT Northeast Area Advisory Committee. It sits alongside other regional jobs, including the Tower Road Interchange Bridge over I-84, the Rieth Interchange and Umatilla River Bridges, and roadway illumination improvements, underscoring how much of eastern Oregon’s travel network is being pushed into a new round of maintenance at once.

For Union County drivers, the immediate concern is simple: watch for slowdowns near Huntington, and expect the lane markings on I-84 to change as crews work west across the corridor.