A $4 million federal grant is funding roadwork on McKenzie Pass Highway, including ADA- accessible ramps. The work should be finished by July 4.

Richard Sandness rode his bike from his home in Sisters to the lava fields at Dee Wright Observatory and back — a steady 2,000-foot climb and 32-mile round trip — 36 times last year.

To avoid cars, he would sometimes get up at 4:30 a.m. and ride as the sun rose over Central Oregon and elk crossed the road where pine forest faded to black volcanic rock.

That route, part of the McKenzie Pass Highway is a big reason he and his wife, Vicki, moved to Sisters after retiring in 2017. Since then, he’s ridden to the top of 5,300-foot McKenzie Pass dozens of times each year. Fellow cyclists call him “The Mayor of McKenzie Pass.”

“If my ashes were to be spread, McKenzie Pass would be a great place,” he said.

But cyclists like Sandness, who flock to the highway when it is closed to vehicles from November to mid-June, have to wait until July 4 to pedal there because the highway is undergoing a $4 million makeover.

Construction crews are adding fresh pavement, mending gouges from years of harsh weather and plowing, repairing shoulders and putting up signs and ADA accessible ramps.

The Oregon Department of Transportation announced earlier this month that its work on McKenzie Pass Highway should be done by July 4 and the highway reopened. That’s a slight delay from the earliest possible opening day, the third Monday in June.

Cyclists know they had to trade their late spring and early summer riding window for a future of smooth sailing.

“It’ll be really fun to ride it when the asphalt is smooth,” Sandness said.

Opening of the highway is weather dependent.

In the 99 years since the McKenzie Pass Highway became a state route, the earliest opening date was on March 25, which occurred in 1934, and the latest was Aug. 16, in 2008.

When the gate opens and the tourist season picks up, ODOT estimates about 300 cars travel the road per day.

“For most cyclists around here, we typically only want to ride it when it’s closed to cars,” said Michelle Cunha, a longtime McKenzie Pass rider and a member of the sales staff at Sunnyside Sports bike shop in Bend.

A 38-mile designated scenic bikeway begins in Sisters, summits the pass at 5,300 feet and ends at Belknap Hot Springs near McKenzie Bridge on the west side. It’s currently rated “extreme,” due to steep inclines and minimal shoulders, according to ODOT.

ODOT frowns on cyclists who use the road early, citing the presence of pre-season maintenance machinery, the lack of cell service and unpredictable weather conditions.

“People who choose to bypass locked gates and closed signs to access the road when it’s closed do so at their own risk,” the agency says on a McKenzie Highway website.

Still, cyclists say that’s the best time to ride. Cunha said she will likely steer clear of McKenzie Pass — a “fantastic ride” — this summer until traffic cools off in the fall.

Joe Gilles, a member of Central Oregon Wheelers, a cycling club in Bend, already has a McKenzie Pass ride penciled into his calendar for July 4. He rode it eight times last year. He was disappointed to miss out on several weeks of early season riding, but he believes the improvements will be well worth the wait.

“It’s a huge win for cyclists, and motorcyclists, for sure,” he said. “It’s going to be much safer.”

Jacob Polacheck, assistant manager at Blazin’ Saddles bike shop in Sisters, has ridden the pass once or twice a year for the last 10 years. He usually only rides when the road is clear of cars.

“Once the gate opens, I don’t bother,” he said.

Polacheck said the bike shop received a few angry phone calls from cyclists who were looking forward to a car-free McKenzie Pass trip this year. But repairs are overdue, he said.

“It’s needed to happen for a long time,” he said. “It’s been in bad condition since I’ve lived here, for 10 years.”

But many are excited for the road to open in improved condition that will increase safety for both cyclists and cars, Polacheck said.

“Widening the road is way better,” Polacheck said. “The road, there’s not really much of a shoulder on it. Some sections are tight for even two cars next to each other to go down.”

Funding for the McKenzie Pass Highway improvements comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Lands Access Program, which targets improvements to transportation infrastructure located adjacent to federal lands.