Heavy rain in Lane County has increased the threat of landslides on roadways. Part of North Fork Siuslaw Road is closed due to soil instability. A slide closed Big Creek Road early this week; it re-opened Wednesday.

Drivers planning to travel along North Fork Siuslaw Road near Mapleton will need to find another route for the foreseeable future.

Devon Ashbridge is with Lane County. She says that while there haven’t been any slides on the road yet, soil instability has officials concerned.

Ashbridge: “There was a lot of water coming off the hillside, some smaller slides up above the road, so we decided to be safe we needed to close that road until conditions stabilized.”

Ashbridge says the County will keep watching Siuslaw and other roads as more rain is expected over the next few days.

Ashbridge: “It’s a surprise to no one that it rains a lot, especially in the coast range. What we’ve seen this year has been smaller slides in very rural areas; however it really is important for folks to be more cautious as they’re driving.”

Ashbridge says Big Creek Road near Florence is now open after a landslide dragged a spruce tree onto the road earlier this week.

In Douglas County a rockslide has closed an access road west of Sutherlin.

Visit the Lane County or ODOT websites for updates on road closures.

