ODOT outlines safety, ADA and barrier projects for Deschutes County, including US 97 work

ODOT Region 4 officials updated the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners on June 23 about scoping, design and construction work planned or under way in the county, emphasizing safety projects along US 97 and operations work in the Bend area.

ODOT managers said the US 97 Northwest Galloway Avenue to O'Neil Highway project is about 50% through design. Omar Ahmed, ODOT Central Oregon and Lower John Day area manager, said the project includes turn restrictions at side streets, a center median barrier paid in part from project savings and other safety work. "We're trying to get this done as quickly as we can to get those improvements built so we don't have to get through another winter season without unsafe conditions," Ahmed said. ODOT officials said the current bid target is March 2026 and they intend to complete construction the following summer. The project budget was stated as $4,200,000 and includes the additional barrier funds.

Ahmed and project staff described the Pershall and O'Neil Highway intersections as candidates for right-in/right-out or left-in access only; long-term planning continues to consider a grade-separated overcrossing. He said the design team is coordinating with the City of Redmond, which raised concerns about restricting left-turn movements and about construction impacts if the road must be widened. "We're continuing discussions with City of Redmond," Ahmed said.

ODOT also described an operations project on US 20 at Third Street in Empire that would replace the signal, add a dedicated right-turn lane to help westbound traffic onto US 20, and provide ADA ramps and pedestrian improvements. Ahmed said ODOT is partnering with the City of Bend to refine what can be funded through operations money.

On countywide safety communications, ODOT said a previous scoping cycle funded a project to install 24 driver-feedback signs on county routes, including Alfalfa Market Road, Burgess Road and South Century Drive. The signs are approximately 50% through planning, ODOT said; the agency said it expects a January 2026 bid date and budgeted the job at "over a million dollars." Ahmed flagged a new Federal Highway Administration option — a public-interest finding — that might let ODOT or the county use internal crews to deliver simple sign work faster.

ODOT staff also reviewed ADA curb-ramp projects: Greenwood Avenue (US 20) curb ramps are nearing completion this month; a more complex Redmond–Prineville curb-ramp job is scheduled for October; and a Sisters curb-ramp project will start after Labor Day to minimize downtown impacts. Ahmed said many recent bids have come in below engineer’s estimates, producing savings on multiple projects including some US 97 barrier work.

In construction updates, ODOT said work on the US 97 phase‑3 barrier between Bend and Redmond had favorable bids and is expected to begin in August with an October 2025 completion target. The Terrebonne area project on US 97 — which ODOT and county staff described as a large, multi-component reconstruction including a Blair Bridge Way interchange, pavement work, ADA ramps, transit stops and utility relocations — is scheduled for substantial completion on Sept. 30, 2026. Ahmed said ODOT has contributed about $11,000,000 toward that work.

County commissioners and staff asked ODOT about pavement ridges on certain stretches of US 97 and about signage and wayfinding at the Empire interchange. ODOT staff said they have planned repaving work north of the North Portmore project and will look into the ridge and signage concerns.

Why it matters: the briefing laid out near-term construction schedules, funding levels and ODOT’s coordination with city partners for safety and accessibility work that affects commuters, freight and local travel around Bend, Redmond and Terrebonne.

The ODOT team left contact information for county staff and commissioners to follow up on specific locations and design questions.