PENDLETON – The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is issuing permits for individuals interested in chaining up commercial vehicles during the winter months, and applications will be accepted through October.

This year, the ODOT District 12 office in Pendleton will issue five permits for Interstate 84 in the Umatilla County area, and the ODOT District 13 office in La Grande will issue three permits for the I-84 Ladd Canyon area in Union County. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will issue five permits for the Umatilla County area to Tribal members.

A random drawing on Nov. 3 will be used to determine who will be offered the ODOT permits.

Only persons who have the chain-up permits will be allowed to provide this service to drivers in designated chain-up areas.

For more information, contact Randy Randolph at the ODOT District 12 Pendleton office at 276-1241, or Lisa Hulse at the District 13 La Grande office at 963-8406.