About
The U.S. 97 Parkway Plan was a multi-phase planning process to improve safety, mobility, active transportation, and transit use on the U.S. 97 Parkway between Tumalo Road and Baker Road, most of which is within the city of Bend, Oregon. The U.S. 97 Bend Parkway Plan was formally adopted by the Oregon Transportation Commission on November 18, 2021. The Oregon Department of Transportation is proposing amendments to the U.S. 97 Parkway Plan to support the Hawthorne Overcrossing project that will address safety issues at the Hawthorne Avenue intersection of U.S. 97 and identify changes to the Hawthorne Avenue access on U.S. 97.
Location
U.S. 97
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U.S. 97 Parkway between Tumalo Road and Baker Road in Bend.
Cost and Funding
TBD
What Problem Will This Improve?
U.S. 97 Parkway Plan Amendment – Hawthorne Access
This is a modification to the Bend Parkway Plan to plan for a full closure at the U.S. 97/Hawthorne Avenue intersection would:
- Reduce conflict points both at the existing intersection and the future western bridge landing area;
- Eliminate the existing turning movements that are observed to result in rear-end crashes at the rate higher than other locations in the community for both vehicles entering and exiting the Bend Parkway at this location;
- Result in minimal operational changes to the transportation system in the vicinity on both the City and State Highway system;
- Meet the community objectives to improve east-west connectivity and safety for people walking, riding bikes and rolling
- Support both the overwhelming feedback and City Council directives to improve safety.
With these observations, the U.S. 97 Bend Parkway Plan is recommended to include a full closure at the U.S. 97/Hawthorne Avenue intersection.