ODOT addresses Jefferson County safety concerns

New lower speed limits are in the works for four segments of state highways in Central Oregon.

A public meeting Wednesday gave the community a chance to talk to the Oregon Department of Transportation and Jefferson County commissioners about this and other highway safety matters.

Since the March 1 increase from 55 mph to 65 mph, ODOT has been evaluating the impact of the increase.

“(The results led to) a recommendation to our state traffic engineer to reduce the speed back to 55 on certain segments that met a specific criteria that we wanted to do further analysis on,” said ODOT Region 4 Manager Bob Bryant.

The reduction will occur on two stretches each of Highway 20 and Highway 97, including a 16-mile segment from Madras to Terrebonne where a recent fatal crash killed a Madras mother and her three young sons.

Another change planned by ODOT will be larger and more frequent signs warning drivers in areas identified as having ‘crash issues,’ such as major intersections.

“I’m very happy to know that they’re doing that signage,” said resident Misty Cox. “I was shocked to know living here my whole life, that there were no signs marking all these intersections.”

Cox lives off Highway 97 and said she worries about drivers who aren’t familiar with the area.

“There are a lot of non-local people that drive this highway,” she said. “The numbers are huge, and those are more what I’m concerned about. Us locals know how dangerous it is, and we take precautions,”

The new speed limit and traffic signs will take effect this summer.