Deschutes County is moving forward on plans to revamp a problematic Powell Butte Highway intersection east of Bend.

County officials expect the design of a roundabout at the highway, Neff Road and Alfalfa Market Road to be completed by late spring of next year and ready for construction.

On Monday, Deschutes County commissioners approved a services contract with an Alaska-based engineering firm that will design the new roundabout and oversee any needed right-of-way acquisitions.

At $2.5 million, the intersection improvement project is the largest for the road department this fiscal year. Chris Doty, Deschutes County road department director, said the county hopes to go out for bids for construction on the project before the summer.

The county road department recommended WHPacific Inc. do the design work for the roundabout.

County commissioners approved the contract, which as negotiated cannot exceed $369,811 for design services, preparing materials for prospective bids on the project and facilitating right-of-way purchases.

The intersection is comprised of Neff Road running east, meeting Powell Butte Highway, which runs north-south, and continuing east as Alfalfa Market Road. A traffic engineering firm found that 20 significant car crashes occurred at the intersection between 2008 and 2012.

The highway has a 55 mph speed limit. Yellow flashing lights warn drivers of the approaching intersection, while drivers on Neff Road and Alfalfa Market Road wait for traffic to pass at stop signs.

The county held public meetings in June to discuss possible fixes for the intersection. A roundabout was determined to be the best solution.

The board also voted this week to establish an official center of Neff Road west of the intersection, which had a right-of-way gap for 600 feet that was discovered after a county survey of the road. Commissioners approved a resolution legalizing the portion of road Wednesday.

The current alignment of the 600 feet did not conform with county records. As the county continues to look at the area and construction, more right-of-way may be purchased from property owners and a defined center was needed for county records, Doty said.

“Legalization is pretty routine on county roads given the fact that some of these roads are 100 years old,” said Doty.

Four property owners adjacent to the road were given notification of the legalization process. No opposing comments were received, according to county officials.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, tshorack@bendbulletin.com