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County road director urges urgent safety fixes on US Highway 97 after deadly stretch
Summary
An area representative reported dozens of fatalities on US Highway 97 and asked the commission to endorse safety investments including passing lanes, medians and intersection roundabouts.
A regional representative speaking for a local advisory committee urged the Oregon Transportation Commission to prioritize safety fixes on US Highway 97, which the speaker said had seen 97 deaths in the past five years. The speaker called for passing lanes, turn pockets and other corridor-level fixes between Madras and Terrebonne, and asked the commission to include the corridor in near‑term funding and scoping work.
“People drive crazy fast. There’s no medians. We need safety passing lanes. We need turns,” the speaker said, emphasizing frequent fatal crashes and the route’s role as a freight diversion for trucks bypassing the Interstate system. Commissioners and other area chairs repeatedly raised US 97 as a shared safety priority during the session and asked staff to consider enforcement, engineering and collaboration with county and law enforcement partners when developing remedies.
