Watch Out for Major Road Closures in Southeast Portland This Summer

As Southeast Cesar Chavez Boulevard is closed for an expected 21 days for sewer repairs, motorists are warned to stick with the detour routes and not try cutting through residential neighborhoods.

Police have stepped up enforcement and ticketed more than 80 drivers for straying off the detour, officials said this week, after just four days of road closure.

Some of the largest transportation corridors in Southeast Portland will be closed around the clock for weeks at a time this summer.

-- Southeast Cesar Chavez closed on June 28 for up to 21 days for a sewer construction project.

-- Construction related to the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project will close Southeast 8th through 12th avenues from July 15 to Aug. 5.

-- On Aug. 5, sewer construction will close Southeast Division Street from Southeast 26th Avenue to Southeast 28th Place for up to three weeks.

Southeast Chavez (previously called Southeast 39^th Avenue) is closed from Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard to Southeast Division Street; detour signs direct drivers to Southeast 30th and Southeast 50th Avenues.

The best thing to do is avoid it completely; 21^th Avenue; 47^th Avenue; 53^rd Avenue; and 60^th Avenue all run from Northeast through Southeast with direct routes crossing over the Banfield Freeway.

City officials also warn that several big construction projects in Southeast neighborhoods this summer are going to make drivers' lives rough but they say collaboration among multiple city bureaus and public agencies is trying to minimize their impact.

Altogether, construction around streetscaping, public transit and sewer improvements are all hitting Southeast neighborhoods at the same time this summer.

TriMet, the Bureau of Environmental Services and the Portland Bureau of Transportation are coordinating their construction schedules to try to avoid overlap in major road closures on north-south corridors, officials say.

"The City has received numerous complaints about speed and stop sign violations in the area," said Lt. Chris Davis of the Traffic Division. "The Portland Police Bureau encourages people travelling through the area to use major streets instead of side streets."

Check out your route in advance at www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation. The site includes links to the several major street closures in Southeast Portland this summer.