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More landslide repairs mean more delays Monday for Highway 213 drivers

As the Oregon Department of Transportation struggles to manage an active landslide near Highway 213, drivers on Monday should once again be prepared for potential delays.

MULINO, Ore. -- As the Oregon Department of Transportation struggles to manage an active landslide near Highway 213, drivers on Monday should once again be prepared for potential delays.

ODOT reduced traffic to a single lane near South Eldorado Road in order to remove trees that have become hazardous due to a slow-moving landslide there.

Crews began cutting down trees by mid-morning, after workers temporarily removed utility lines on the east side of the roadway.

The work is the latest chapter of Highway 213 repairs on the southern flank of Spangler Hill. In March of 2016, cracks started to appear on the road following record rainfall. ODOT later said that crews had discovered that the highway was built on an ancient landslide.

Starting at 4 a.m. Monday, traffic was reduced to the southbound lane and flaggers controlled vehicles. ODOT said the flagging would continue through the evening and single-lane traffic in each direction would resume once the trees are removed.

Thousands of people rely on Highway 213 on a daily basis, to get to work and to get to their homes. And this landslide is threatening 213,” said ODOT spokeswoman Kimberly Dinwiddie.

We’ve been working hard to keep highway 213 open for travelers.” The agency is also installing roughly 40 drains beneath the landslide in an effort to remove water and stop the slide.

ODOT has said that the road remains safe for travelers. &ldquo

ODOT checks the road daily and monitors instruments installed in the road to monitor movement. ODOT does not expect to close the road but is ready to take all necessary steps, including closure, to ensure public safety,”" the agency wrote in a release.

Some living near Mulino have their doubts about the situation, though.

“I don’t trust that this is going to last, that it’s going to work,” said Beavercreek resident Josephine Blasi of the landslide and road repairs. “It’s been a hassle because the traffic’s slow. But also for me, it’s a little scary. So I go through Canby.”

“I’m concerned about it breaking off again. Only higher up, along the side there,” said Gerri Bitz, who lived in the area.

Nearby, an employee at the Mulino Store & Deli gas station told KGW that road closures and traffic related to the Highway 213 slide up the road had resulted in a 20 percent drop in business.

“I think mother nature is going to win and they’re spending a lot of money here and I don’t know if it will work,” said Blasi.

ODOT will host a meeting Tuesday, Feb. 13. to get the public up to speed on landslide repairs. The open house will be held 5 to 7 p.m. at Arrowhead Golf Club, Molalla, in the Payne Stewart Room.

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