Ribbon cut; Bend’s Hwy. 97-Murphy Road project opens

Three construction seasons after it began, the U.S. Highway 97-Murphy Road project in southern Bend wrapped up with traffic opening and a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday.

To mark the occasion, after three construction seasons and more than two years, ODOT invited a small group of VIPs to cut the ribbon and open the new Murphy Road Bridge and extension to traffic for the first time.

The project has been a joint state-city of Bend project that creates a new east-west travel corridor in the southern part of Bend, while at the same time improving traffic flow on Highway 97 by eliminating traffic signals.

Construction included two new roundabouts and two new bridges, including one at Murphy Road and an overcrossing connecting south 3rd Street to southbound U.S. 97, and a new alignment of Murphy Road west of the Bend Parkway.

A goal of the Oregon Department of Transportation has been the elimination of the signalized intersections at Third Street and Pinebrook Boulevard on Highway 97, which will alleviate congestion and increase mobility in the corridor and greatly reduce the crashes at these locations, which have been some of the highest in Central Oregon.

The signal at Pinebrook Boulevard and Highway 97 is scheduled to be removed this month.

The $27.7 million project is one of several funded through Oregon’s 2009 Jobs And Transportation Act, which included a 6 cents per gallon state gas tax increase.

To learn more about the project, visit:

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION4/pages/us97-murphyrd/us97-murphyrd.aspx

Bend drivers continue to face a series of detours and challenges. The Reed Market Road reconstruction opened last week, while the Colorado Avenue Bridge closed for weeks of trail and sewer line work, creating new detours.

In addition, Southeast Wilson Avenue at Ninth Street closed Monday for up to fpur days due to railroad crossing reconstruction and associated road work.