ODOT looks to add second Sisters roundabout
More changes could be coming to Highway 20 in Sisters, as discussed in a Sisters City Council meeting Wednesday night.
The Oregon Department of Transportation is looking to add another roundabout to Highway 20 on the east side of town.
This would be the second roundabout in the city ,after the first one was put in last year on Highway 20 and Barclay Drive.
This roundabout would be placed at the intersection of Highway 20 and Locust Street.
The idea is to make it easier for people to bypass the city if need be, and to lessen backups through the downtown Sisters area, as well as to improve safety.
There’s a school on the corner there, and right now it can be tough to cross the highway for students as they make their way to class.
Bob Townsend with ODOT said Wednesday it’s important they have a close relationship with the cities to make sure they can work with them to serve their specific needs.
Townsend added Sisters is a great partner that has helped to speed up the process of putting in another roundabout.
“What’s nice is the city just recently adopted into their transportation system plan, and now we are already moving forward on trying to obtain funding and trying to move forward on the improvement, where sometimes it can stay for five or 10 years.” Townsend said. ” So this is a nice opportunity, for the city and ODOT.”
ODOT is in the process of applying for grants to help fund the roundabout.
Once they have funding, they can move to the design stage, which according to Townsend could take around a year before they begin moving dirt.
Townsend also gave on update on state Highway 242, the Old McKenzie Highway, which is still in recovery mode after last year’s Milli Fire.
He said there will be maintenance crews out on the road this month, working to help cut down on the flash flooding the highway saw during big storms.
But he added that it’s tough to say when things will be back in proper working order on the highway because of the significant changes it has seen from the fire’s impact.
