Bendites split on road construction headaches

With summer fast approaching, construction season is heating up, which can sometimes take a toll on local residents. Road construction, in particular, is ramping up in a big way in Bend this week.

The ongoing construction on Northwest 14th Street closed the road from Galveston to Newport avenues from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. One lane of Southwest Reed Market Road from Century Drive to Brookswood Boulevard also was closed. On Wednesday, both lanes of Reed Market will be closed from Brookswood to the Bend Parkway.

People living nearby gave NewsChannel 21 mixed observations Tuesday about how the road closures affect them. One person living just west of 14th Street said she actually likes the lane shutdowns, because it turned her part of the street into an effective dead-end.

“When we first moved here, Hartford was a dead end, so it wasn’t as traveled,” Denise Kelly-Simpson said. “Now that it goes all the way through to NorthEest Crossing, it’s a lot busier traffic-wise. That’s just the town changing. But it’s kind of nice to have it feel sleepy and quiet.”

Others say getting to work in that part of town has been difficult lately.

“Getting to work has been kind of crazy because of roundabouts that are closed, this street, which is kind of our main access — Galveston and 14th,” Victorian Cafe Manager Kathleen Hope said.

Construction is not just affecting people working at those businesses. It takes longer for everyone to get around, and all the detours can be confusing.

“They’ll find parking, but it’s a matter of getting here,” Victorian Cafe server Shawna Ellefson said. “When people show up, they’re always addressing the fact that it took them longer to get here because of the traffic.”

The city of Bend Streets and Operations manager said this summer, his department will be more focused on street maintenance than in previous years. There’s a lot of slurry-sealing going on, for example, part of a goal to keep streets in okay shape from deteriorating.

“It’s a busy summer again,” Manager David Abbas said. “From us, in Streets and Operations, we’re touching nearly 100 lane-miles. So it’s busier for us on the maintenance side.”

The city puts out a weekly road and traffic report through the summer, available by email and on the city’s Website.