PORTLAND, Ore. -- A new report highlights the most likely potential earthquake scenarios in Oregon, and coastal communities could potentially be cut off from the rest of the state.
The Oregon Department of Transportation concluded that a major earthquake would make U.S. 101 along the Oregon Coast impassable, while cutting off all connections from coastal communities to Portland, Salem and other Willamette Valley communities.
Only small portions of Interstate 5 would be passable, too, ODOT said.
The study was conducted using a computer program that simulates potential earthquake damage to bridges. It took into consideration any current retrofitting underway or completed in the last two years and was overseen jointly by ODOT and Portland State University.
Read the full report here.
"The report recommends further study to update existing lifeline route designations to be consistent with new bridges built in the last 15 years since the original lifeline routes were identified," ODOT said. Lifeline routes were created during the 1980s.
