N. Oregon Coast's Highway 6 Back Open to Two Lanes After Month-Long Traffic Issues

Published 01/16/26 at 6:25 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Tillamook, Oregon) - Oregon Highway 6 is once again open to two-way traffic after nearly a month of landslide damage, lane restrictions, and travel delays.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is urging drivers to remain cautious along this main route to the Oregon coast. Motorists should slow down, watch for flaggers, and be prepared for brief delays as crews install new guardrail on Monday, January 19. Once that work is finished, emergency repairs will be officially complete and flagging operations will end.

The damage began during the December 2025 storm, when a downhill landslide and a sunken roadway surface compromised OR 6 near milepost 35.

ODOT's Mindy McCartt explained more details to Oregon Coast Beach Connection earlier this month.

“OR 6 was fully closed for much of the day on Dec. 19 while crews assessed damage and stabilized the area,” McCart told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “Later that day, the highway reopened to one lane of traffic with flaggers alternating traffic through the work zone.”

Since that time, they were able to keep Highway 6 open but restricted to one lane and with 24/7 flagging. Then, out of the blue, a new issue popped up early in January and shut the entire road down again for a day.

Highway 6 to Oregon Coast Declared an Emergency Situation by Washington County - The move will hopefully initiate federal assistance

“While crews were working, a new crack developed in the open lane,” McCart said. “For safety, crews temporarily closed the highway to address the issue and build a temporary lane.”

This meant some impromptu, major rebuilding. Indeed, early on in the closure they had announced the highway would likely be open again by the end of the day.

Since then, crews have worked continuously to restore the highway. Emergency repairs included building a temporary lane to keep traffic moving with the help of 24/7 pilot cars and temporary signals, removing slide debris, rebuilding the roadway base, and repaving and restriping the surface.

Washington County declared their portion of the highway an emergency, hoping to snag additional funds to help shore up the roadway permanently.

In the meantime, the worst of the traffic headaches to this part of the Oregon coast should be over - at least for awhile. See the project website.

ODOT publicly thanked its partners - Pihl Excavating, AAngels Traffic Control, Brix Paving, and Columbia River Contracting - for their rapid response and extensive work to rebuild the damaged section and restore full access.

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