I wasn’t sure what to do when, driving up I-5 from Southern Oregon Monday, I heard a siren and saw an ambulance coming up from behind. I didn’t think the standard instruction in the Drivers’ Manual — pull to the right and stop — made any sense in this case.
Most afternoons, around 4 and 5 p.m., Albany’s Pacific-Ninth one-way couplet is a busy place, traffic plugging all available lanes, backing up at lights. And when you hear sirens and see the flashing lights, what you’re supposed to do to let the emergency vehicles through is impossible and may actually hold them up.
Why is this overpass ramp still closed?
When the “Southern Pacific Railroad Overcrossing” in Albany was built in 1939, the state highway department provided it with proper ramps to get on and off. Many years later, ODOT made one of the ramps off limits. It’s still closed, and the question is why.
Tags: Albany traffic, emergency vehicles, Pacific overcrossing, Thurston Street ramp, traffic