Melrose Road at the Conn Ford Bridge to Close For a Week Starting Aug 15

Starting Monday morning, August 15, Melrose Road will close for one week at the South Umpqua River as the Conn Ford Bridge replacement project begins a new phase. During the closure, traffic from the Melrose area will detour onto Old Melrose Road, Harvard Avenue, Stewart Parkway and Garden Valley Boulevard. This closure will allow prime contractor Farline Bridge Inc. to connect Melrose Road to a temporary bypass bridge located next to the Conn Ford Bridge. When Melrose Road opens on August 22, portable signals will provide traffic control at each end of the temporary bridge. The work zone speed limit has been reduced to 35 mph. More about the Conn Ford Bridge Project: ​The Conn Ford Bridge spans the South Umpqua River about one mile west of Roseburg on Melrose Road. The bridge was constructed in 1964, when there was less traffic in the Melrose area, and has reached the end of its originally anticipated lifespan. The bridge has narrow shoulders and the rails do not meet current safety standards. The bridge received a low sufficiency rating of 9 out of 100 based on three criteria: structural evaluation, obsolescence of design and importance to the public. The Federal Highway Administration uses sufficiency ratings to determine whether a bridge qualifies for repair funding (a score of less than 80) or replacement funding (less than 50). This project will remove the existing bridge and replace it with a new two-lane structure on the same alignment that meets current standards. The new bridge will contain wide shoulders for pedestrian, bicycle and ADA access across the bridge. Via ODOT Images via Roseburg Tracker