FAQ

Check out some of the Frequently Asked Questions in regard to the Terrebonne Refinement Plan and the Preferred Alternative:

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Q. What does ODOT hope to address with this project?

Q. How much funding is currently available for this project?
A. There is currently $20 million designated to address safety and congestion issues on U.S. 97 at Lower Bridge Way.

Q. Is there a timeframe as to when ODOT needs to spend the $20M? If so, can the money be held for future improvements?
A. Yes, the legislature has allocated specific timelines for the money to be used for this project. If the funding isn’t spent within the allocated funding years, it can be reallocated to another project.

Q. Where did the Couplet Alternative come from? How was the public involved in shaping the preferred Couplet Alternative?
A. ODOT, Deschutes County, Jefferson County, and consultant team have been engaging the community since early summer 2018 in this process. In September 2018, the project team held a Concept Development Workshop which included 130 participants and resulted in nearly 200 corridor, intersection, and highway transition concept ideas. These were narrowed to 48 alternatives and then down to 20 promising alternatives. Those alternatives were then evaluated by the project team against the project goals and objectives and overall functionality. This process narrowed the alternatives down to two final system alternatives, which included the preferred Couplet Alternative and a five-lane alternative on U.S. 97.

Public outreach has included the involvement of a Community Advisory Committee, made up by staff from local agencies, business owners and community members. The Advisory Committee has met four times over the last seven months to discuss project goals and objectives, alternatives and tradeoffs. In January 2019, the AC took a vote, with the large majority of members indicating support of the Couplet Alternative. Additionally, there have been several additional community meetings and events, including two public open house events that were open to all community members (June 2018 and January 2019), a meeting with the Neighborhood Alliance (November 2018), a meeting with business and property owners along 11th Avenue (December 2018), a business and property owner meeting at Lower Bridge Way (January 2019), a community meeting at Crooked River Ranch (January 2019), participation by the project team at Save Terrebonne meetings (early 2019), and several one-on-one meetings with property owners along the corridor.

ODOT and the project team are actively discussing options with community members to identify the best Alternative for Terrebonne.

PREFERRED COUPLET ALTERNATIVE

Q. Why was the Couplet Alternative selected as the preferred alternative?
A. The Couplet Alternative:

Q. Does the Couplet Alternative include roundabouts on U.S. 97?
A. No. The preferred Couplet Alternative includes a roundabout on Lower Bridge Way but does not include any roundabouts on U.S. 97.

Q. Does the Couplet Alternative include a new signaled intersection?
A. No. The preferred Couplet Alternative does not include any new intersection lights on U.S. 97 or on 11th Avenue.

Q. Are the Smith Rock Community Church buildings impacted by the preferred Couplet Alternative?
A. The existing and historic church buildings are located outside the existing 11th Street right-of-way; however, the porch to the historic church building extends into the right-of-way. There are a number of design options to avoid disrupting the porch, including eliminating the landscape strip and having the new sidewalk go in front of the porch. The details of this segment will be refined in the final design process, but the intent has been that the reconstruction of 11th Street would not impact these buildings.

Q. Will my property lose access to the highway?
A. All properties will retain access to the transportation system. During the final design process, specific driveway widths and locations will be determined in consultation with individual property owners.

Q. How will 11th Street be redeveloped under the preferred Couplet Alternative?
A. With the Couplet Alternative, 11th Street would be fully reconstructed to include two, 11-foot northbound travel lanes, a northbound buffered bike lane, landscaping and 8-foot sidewalks on both sides from 10th Avenue to Lower Bridge Way. On-street parking and truck loading zones would be developed as needed and in coordination with adjacent property owners.

Q. How does the Couplet Alternative improve the safety of children walking or bicycling across U.S. 97?
A. Marked crossings with activated Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons will be installed at B Avenue and Smith Rock Way, along with a protected cycle track along B Avenue between the Couplet to provide safe crossings.

OTHER ALTERNATIVES

Q. Why doesn’t the project team consider a bypass of Terrebonne?
A. A bypass was originally considered in the project; however, the magnitude of cost for a bypass exceeded $100 Million which was well beyond the $20 Million allocation by the legislature.

Q. Why can’t we build an interchange at Lower Bridge Way similar to the Yew Avenue interchange in Redmond?
A. The Yew Avenue interchange covers approximately 16 acres of land and would impact at least 4 businesses, a church, and up to 6 houses at Lower Bridge Way (click here for more information). It is a priority to ODOT to disrupt as few of properties as possible with this project.

Q. Why does ODOT consider the Save Terrebonne Alliance option not feasible?
A. The proposed interchange concept (updated April 2019) would require significant right-of-way and would cost over $40M. ODOT is working with Save Terrebonne to discuss community needs.

Q. Could funding be used to focus exclusively on improving Lower Bridge Way?
A. No. The funding was allocated for not only Lower Bridge Way but also to address safety along US 97 through Terrebonne. Also, ODOT and Deschutes County signed an agreement that the funding would address the entire corridor’s needs within Terrebonne.

OTHER (SPEED, FUNDING, ETC.)

Q. What will the speeds be through the Terrebonne business district?
A. The posted speeds will likely be between 25 and 35 miles per hour between 10th Avenue (south) and at Lower Bridge Way.

Q. Who currently has jurisdiction over 11th Avenue?
A. Deschutes County

Q. There have been crews sighted making markings on U.S. 97. Has a decision already been made and work started on building something?
A. The crew members that have been working on U.S. 97 are marking utility locations. This information will assist when design of the final alternative begins. This information will be helpful regardless of the final selected alternative.