Why is logging going on at Delaney Road Exit on Interstate 5?

This is part of an ongoing series answering "Why is that?" questions about Salem and the Mid-Valley.

The question: Why are trees being felled just before the Delaney Road/Turner Exit south of Salem? We have at least part of the answer. But first, a little history.

The background: Exit 248 south of Salem will take you to the quaint suburb of Turner, named after a well-known pioneer and flour mill owner, Henry Turner. The town was established in 1871 when the railroad went through his property but did not incorporate until 1905.

Today, Turner is most famous for being home to an award-winning winery and a beloved seasonal theme park, both highly visible as you travel northbound on Interstate 5.

Take a left off the Delaney Exit, then a quick right on Enchanted Way, and you can't miss either destination.

Willamette Valley Vineyards was founded in 1983 by Jim Bernau, who cleared an old pioneer plum orchard in the hills underneath scotch broom and blackberry vines to plant Pinot Noir grapes.

The Enchanted Forest was created by Roger Tofte, who built the theme park. The first section, Storybook Lane, opened in 1971.

Signs at Exit 248 have only in recent years been marked Delaney Road. The exit used to be known as Sunnyside/Turner. Sunnyside Road SE is on the west side of I-5, running parallel to the freeway.

Delaney Road is named after Daniel Delaney, a wealthy pioneer farmer who was murdered in 1865 outside the front door of his home just west of Turner. But that's another story.

The Delaney House was built in 1845 and still stands. The National Register of Historic Places recognized the house in 2004, before it was moved to its current location — still on the original property — and restored and renovated. Passersby can glimpse the third-oldest house in Oregon on the south side of the road heading toward Turner.

Why is there logging going on at the Delaney Road Exit?

Regular southbound I-5 travelers may have noticed trees and brush being removed alongside and atop a ridge as you approach Exit 248.

Some clearing activity started last year on private property to the west, revealing a chain link fence and leaving trees closest to the freeway and on Oregon Department of Transportation right-of-way property vulnerable to wind.

ODOT hired a contractor to begin hazard tree removal in mid-February, work indirectly related to Phase 1 of an upcoming I-5 widening project in that area.

A section of southbound I-5 will be widened to three lanes to address the freight bottleneck and traffic congestion created when trucks climb the hill just north of the Battle Creek Road bridge to Delaney Road.

Most of the widening will occur toward the inside median between the southbound and northbound lanes, helping reduce impacts to residential communities to the west and reduce the project cost.

The Delaney off-ramp will be rebuilt and realigned, with ODOT planning to use the existing lane as the third travel lane on I-5. Vehicles in the off-ramp lane will no longer share the lane with faster-moving through traffic.

Construction is scheduled to begin late summer, early fall and take approximately two years to complete, according to the FAQ section of the project homepage .

The contractor who did the work for ODOT removed marketable trees and left scattered branches and remnants along the ridge and stacks of larger branches heaped against the exit guardrail.

ODOT has no plans to clean up the debris until construction begins, which may involve the removal of more trees along I-5 and cutting into the hillside to make room for the new lane. ODOT says it will only remove trees necessary to build the project.

Phase 1 of the I-5 widening project — with an estimated cost of $50.5 million — does not include widening the northbound lanes in the same area because ODOT does not have the additional funding needed.

Oh, by the way

ODOT completed a noise study to look at current sound levels in the project area, comparing it to future estimated levels and determining the need for sound walls.

Sound walls are barriers constructed between the highway and neighboring properties to maximize noise reduction, and Salem has many of them paralleling I-5.

ODOT found three locations in the Kuebler-to-Delaney stretch that met the criteria for a sound wall, voting to include two in the project. Both will be on the west side, near the 55+ gated community Terrace Lake Park and along the southbound Commercial Street on-ramp.​

I-5 and other road construction will soon be in full swing with summer approaching. Stay up-to-date by signing up for project alerts from ODOT, and always use Tripcheck.com before you travel.

Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Email your "Why is that" questions to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com .

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Why is logging going on at Delaney Road Exit on Interstate 5?