Traffic in Terrebonne used to be a lot quieter than it is today. But now, with heavy, fast-moving and long lines of traffic flowing through town, residents are eager for a new state road project set to start next spring that will transform the town’s U.S. Highway 97 corridor.

The main part of the project, which could cost up to $30 million, will add an interchange at the intersection of Highway 97 and Lower Bridge Way, just north of downtown Terrebonne. That will allow drivers heading to or from Crooked River Ranch to access the highway without having to cross two lanes of traffic.

Oregon Department of Transportation officials said at an informational session at the Terrebonne Community School on Monday that the project will also include a number of upgrades to Terrebonne’s local roads, plus new features called “chicanes,” which are designed to slow traffic entering town, will be installed on both the north and south ends of town.

The chicanes will include islands that narrow the roadway and require vehicles to follow a curving path to discourage speeding. They will also help separate vehicles that are stopping in Terrebonne or turning off toward Smith Rock State Park from those wishing to say on Highway 97.

The construction project comes after years of planning, controversy and changes to a larger-scale plan for a divided highway that would put two southbound lanes on the existing highway and two northbound lanes on 11th Street. Residents pushed back against that plan, leading to the Deschutes County Commission voting in September 2019 to stall it. Since, the county worked with ODOT and offered $10 million to add to the $20 million in state funding for the new proposal. The new plan added a diamond interchange with “dog-bone” ramps, which resemble something like two roundabouts next to each other, at Highway 97 and Lower Bridge Way.

For many residents in Terrebonne and Crooked River Ranch, the news that ODOT crews will likely begin construction on the project in March, with a completion date expected for fall 2025, was a sigh of relief.

Since 2020, there have been 17 serious accidents at the intersection of Lower Bridge Way and Highway 97, according to data provided by Redmond Fire & Rescue.

“When we first moved over here, I would let a baby crawl through the highway,” said Bill Doty, who has lived on a Terrebonne property right along Highway 97 since 1989. “But I’d say in the past 10 years, the traffic has gotten so bad. You see 15 semis just trucking right along and nobody does the speed limit, even through Terrebonne.” Doty’s wife, Michelle Doty, was born and raised in Bend. She said she moved to Terrebonne to escape Bend’s increasing traffic. And while she said Terrebonne still has a small-town feel, it is catching up with Bend as far as traffic is concerned. And that made drivers unsafe.

Michelle Doty said she was a little concerned about how the construction will affect her ability to get around town. Residents and local businesses are hoping the inconvenience is minimal during the 18-month construction phase.

Cari Charlton, consultant project manager with ODOT, said the project should begin by March. She said the busy intersection with Lower Bridge Way, which serves as a major artery for the roughly 5,000 residents living in Crooked River Ranch, was a major safety concern that needed addressing.

Charlton said speeding is also a concern.

“It is a shifting of the highway alignment,” said Charlton. “That helps physically slow cars down, because just because we put a sign up doesn’t mean traffic is going to abide by that posted speed limit. So the shifted roadway, or the chicane, is a physical reason to slow people down coming into the community.”

Charlton said the project will also provide much needed upgrades to Terrebonne’s local roads, including parking, new lighting, signs, turn lanes and pedestrian crossings.

For Debbie Hershey, who lives in Crooked River Ranch, the highway project is exactly what the community needs.

“I am very excited about it. It’s a mess (currently). When people leave my house and head towards Madras, I tell them, ‘Do not try to turn left on 97 but instead turn right, go in and make a circle around the grocery store (Oliver Lemon’s),’ because you just cannot turn left,” Hershey said. “And when I see a line of cars ready to turn left, I just want to get out and tell people you just can’t do it. It is very dangerous. So, this will be wonderful.”

Bobbie and Bob Miller, who also live in Crooked River Ranch, said they understand it will be inconvenient to get to town during construction, but they are OK with that.

“I think it will solve our greatest concern, which is safety being able to get on 97 northbound — because it is dangerous the way it is now,” said Bob Miller. “I imagine it will be a mess for traffic trying to go from Madras to Bend, but when you have progress, you have problems getting there. I think it will be worth it.”

Highway 97 improvements in Terrebonne delayed