ODOT to add 2 roundabouts, bike/pedestrian underpass to Highway 20 at Tumalo

'All the signs pointed toward if you can do an undercrossing, please do so' - but one business frowns at the location

TUMALO, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Two long-awaited roundabouts and a bike/pedestrian underpass will be built on busy U.S. Highway 20 at Tumalo, starting next fall. 

Jim Crouch, the CEO of Heritage Brand, a leather manufacturing company in Tumalo, said Monday, “I think it's going to be really good for our business. Really good for Tumalo.”

He said traffic on Highway 20 is now too fast and leads to crashes and other problems.

“Tumalo tends to be kind of a hidden gem, because traffic does really flow through fast, even though the speed limit is 45,” Crouch said.

ODOT, in conjunction with Deschutes County, is planning to add two roundabouts in the project that begins in the fall, one at the intersection with the Old Bend-Redmond Highway and the other at O.B. Riley Road.

The $14 million project has been discussed for years, according to ODOT Region 4 spokesman Peter Murphy.

"We’ve been hearing from people out there about the troubles that are caused by the cross-traffic and the straight traffic and just all the congestion that's occurring out in Tumalo now,” he said.

Murphy said a bike and pedestrian undercrossing is in the plans as well.

“All the signs pointed toward, if you can do an undercrossing, please do so,” he said. 

The path will go under the highway, with room for people to bike, jog or walk from one side to the other.

“I think the pedestrian walkway is a great concept -- bad location,” Crouch said. 

Crouch said the original location for the crossing was at Seventh Street, but is now planned to be at Fourth Street.

“It doesn’t make any sense, it's actually -- nobody’s going to use it, so it's going to a great place for graffiti,” Crouch said. 

Crouch says he thinks the proposed location won't help business. 

“The pedestrian underpass is blocks away from where that’s going to be, so you're going to have to walk three blocks up, cross the highway, and walk three or four blocks back down to actually access any of those businesses. So it doesn’t make any sense,” Crouch said. 

However, he added that with all the benefits the roundabouts will bring, he thinks the project as a whole will be positive. 

“I’m in constant contact with mostly all the business owners here in downtown, and everyone is really excited to see it come into town,” Crouch said. 

More information: https://www.oregon.gov/odot/projects/pages/project-details.aspx?project=20011.