With a bridge design approved, the city of Bend moves forward with the Hawthorne pedestrian & bicycle overcrossing
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – In an effort to improve connectivity for Bend's pedestrians and bikers, the city has approved the Midtown Crossing Project.
The Hawthorne Overcrossing will be a bridge that's going to connect the west side of Bend to the east side.
City Engineer Ryan Oster said Wednesday: “This is going to be a pedestrian and bike-only bridge, so really the intent is, we want to encourage those users of this system, to get away from the conflicts that you have on Franklin, Greenwood, some of these other corridors, and really utilize this as a way to get east and west here.”
This massive undertaking will be a collaborative effort between the city and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
“The bridge is going to be up, and it has to have a certain level of clearance on top of the train tracks, so you can kind of visualize how high this thing has to get and how quickly it has to get there,” Oster said.
The majority of Bend council members told staff they favored a ‘single tower cable stay bridge’ design.
The design garnered mixed feelings from Bend residents.
Issac Deane said: “Looks amazing. We really need this, honestly.”
Alec Bonito said: “I think it'd be a great addition to the city.”
Tyler Barnett said: “It's a little modern for this town.”
The Hawthorne overcrossing pedestrian and bicycle bridge project is slated to begin construction in 2026 and wrap up in 2027. Learn more about the project and signup for project updates HERE.
