Highway 97 median barrier project gets underway

Construction crews began work Tuesday on a median barrier project on Highway 97 just south of Bend.

The $6 million project will widen the highway shoulders and add a median barrier between Romaine Village Way and Lava Butte.

Motorists are expected to experience minimal delays through the construction zone as the shoulder-widening work and installation of a median barrier takes place. Paving work later in the summer is expected to take place at night.

Oregon Department of Transportation Region 4 spokesman Peter Murphy said Tuesday the project will reduce the number of serious crossover crashes on the highway.

“Our experience here with our four lane highway shows that if you divide the highway by median and physical property that you’re actually making it safer,” Murphy said.

Motorists will see delays of 20 minutes or less through the work zone, but those delays could change over time.

“The biggest impact that will happen when we close two lanes for paving. But it will be at night, when we get to that point, and paving is really the last phase of that project,” Murphy said.

The project is scheduled to be completed by October.