Construction is expected to start at the beginning of August on a $27.5 million road project that will drastically alter traffic on the southern end of Bend.

The Murphy Road Overcrossing project is expected to take about two years to complete, and will extend Murphy Road, which currently ends at Third Street, over the Bend Parkway on an overpass and connect it with Brookswood Boulevard. A second overpass will allow drivers traveling south on Third Street toward U.S. Highway 97 to avoid the stoplight at that intersection. That traffic light will eventually be removed as well.

The stoplight at Third Street and Pinebrook Boulevard will also be removed, and three roundabouts will be added along Murphy Road, including one at its intersection with Third Street.

ODOT spokesman Peter Murphy said workers will begin placing abutments for the overpasses around the beginning of August. This spring a number of trees were removed in the area to prepare for the project. Murphy said that measure was taken early to avoid nesting season.

Motorists can expect to see temporary signs along Highway 97 at the end of this month. The first impact drivers will likely experience will take place on Brookswood Boulevard, Murphy said.

Near the end of July, the southbound lane of Brookswood Boulevard will be shut down between Pinebrook Boulevard and Finchwood Drive and a detour will be put in place. That closure will remain in place until the beginning of September.

“Brookswood takes a lot of traffic, so it’s probably going to affect a significant number of motorists,” Murphy said. “They need to be aware of this impact to their driving habits.

“Northbound should not be affected, but people up and out of the Old Mill who are heading south on Brookswood will see that impact and affect their driving patterns. It might be more useful to go up to Reed Market Road and get on Highway 97 to travel south.”

Construction will also take place on the west side of the parkway as workers rebuild Pinebrook Boulevard. Eventually the light at Pinebrook Boulevard and Highway 97 will be removed and traffic will no longer be allowed to cross there.

Murphy said while the construction may be challenging, “the benefit they get out of it is the new Murphy Overcrossing will become the main east-west connector for the city.”

Murphy hopes to have a groundbreaking on July 22.

The project is funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation, with $25 million from the Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act, which the Oregon Legislature adopted in 2009 that added a 6-cents-per-gallon gas tax. The money from that gas tax goes to improve and modernize Oregon’s roads and transportation infrastructure.

On the Web

For more information about the Murphy Road interchange project, visit www.us97 andmurphyroad.com.