You may see a sign similar to this one on Franklin Avenue next year, for six months. (Richard Coe/The Bulletin)

A stretch of Franklin Avenue in Bend may be a no-go zone next year. The city may block off the Franklin Avenue underpass for five to six months.

Let that sink in.

It’s one of the big east/west routes for the city. If the other road closures around downtown Bend had you grimacing, please read on.

This closure plan is not finalized. The Bend City Council will likely hold a meeting this fall to look at any future work for Franklin, Hawthorne and Greenwood. The city has been striving to get an impressive bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing built at Hawthorne and carry out needed improvements on Franklin and Greenwood. They are key connectors.

The work on Franklin may extend from Harriman Street to Eighth Street. The estimated cost for just the section from Harriman to Fourth Street is over $16 million. The money available for the project is $14 million. Several questions came up on Wednesday from councilors and city staff. Should the city take money from another project to pay for it? Should the city downsize plans for Franklin? Does spending more money on Franklin hurt the ability to add improvements around the Hawthorne overcrossing to make it a success?

That stretch of Franklin is expensive and complicated – with its Brutalist underpass, work to ensure safer travel for bikes and pedestrians and its water drainage issues.

The biggest question for many residents, though, may be: How can the city pull off any closure on Franklin with the least disruption? Keeping one lane open on Franklin, if possible, may cause less consternation. It would also increase the price and may double the time of the closures.