December 15, 2025 3:50 a.m. 

A contractor for the Oregon Department of Transportation has finished work for the season on the Oregon 42 Lookingglass Creek to I-5 Project.

Dan Latham of ODOT said on Friday, Rocky Mountain Construction finished the concrete traffic separators along the center of the median on Highway 42 between Rolling Hills Road and Carnes Road. Latham said all lanes are now open with the traffic control cones and barrels removed.

Latham said the contractor began work in February and has accomplished a lot in the last ten months:

*ADA sidewalk curb ramps were replaced at 14 intersections

*Two right turn lanes were constructed from the highway onto Landers Avenue and Rolling Hills Road

*New traffic signal put in at Rolling Hills Road

*A mile of the highway was paved from Carnes Road to Rolling Hills Road

Latham said new technology was added to the traffic signals through the project area that provide better timing and should help reduce the number of crashes at Kelly’s Corner and other big intersections.

Latham said in the past, there have been lots of crashes on Highway 42 between Carnes Road and Rolling Hills Road. He said the barrier and traffic separators along the center median will help prevent similar crashes.

When work resumes next year, the contractor will pave Highway 42 from Interstate 5 to Carnes Road and then from the Umpqua River. Past the Cheetah statue and out to Lookingglass Creek. Concrete barrier will also be placed between the eastbound and westbound highway lanes from Grange Road to the spot where the northbound I-5 ramps split apart.

Latham said there are a couple of months of work left, but the contractor is on track to get everything done ahead of schedule. The project completion date on the contract is September 30, 2026.