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Oregon Department of Transportation will close the top deck of the Fremont Bridge for three weekends to replace the aging surface along a 2,159-foot-long section of the bridge.

The Fremont Bridge is the only bridge in the state of Oregon that has an epoxy asphalt concrete layer, and only the top deck of the bridge uses this material. The layer has outlasted its service life and needs to be replaced, said ODOT spokeswoman Kimberly Dinwiddie. The current epoxy asphalt concrete layer on the bridge has been in place since its construction 38 years ago.

To replace the epoxy asphalt layer, crews will first need remove an upper layer of standard asphalt with a pavement grinder. The epoxy asphalt layer is directly on top of steel plating, so crews will have to scrape it off using chisels to avoid damage to the steel from pavement grinders.

Once the bridge has been stripped down to its steel plates, it will be re-coated with two layers of epoxy asphalt concrete, each of which take 6 hours to cure—which is why the top deck will need to be closed for three full weekends of work, Dinwiddie said.

The weekends of July 29 and August 5 will be spent stripping the deck and re-laying epoxy asphalt concrete. During the weekend of August 19, crews will pave over the epoxy asphalt concrete with a 1.5-inch layer of standard asphalt, Dinwiddie said.

Woodburn-based firm Kerr Contractors is completing the $3.5 million project.