Editorial: Minimizing the road construction disruption in Bend

Published 9:00 am Monday, July 21, 2025

Ah, summer. Vacations, school is out, and the air is perfumed by the smell of asphalt. The roads acquire an orange tinge with a layer of cones and signs. 

It’s paving, repaving and construction time. Your commute or trip to the store may be longer than expected or even redirected. 

It may not seem like it, but city staff talk about trying to find ways to minimize the inconvenience construction causes. They talk about it a lot. Bend city councilors pass on feedback from the community. 

Here’s one example of construction disruption minimization: the recent work on Eighth Street on Bend’s northeast side. It was street preservation/maintenance, “a two-inch grind and inlay project removing and replacing the old and brittle asphalt to extend the life of the roadway,” in the words of David Abbas, the city’s transportation and mobility director. Total contract amount: $680,709.

Workers have also been doing the work at night. It makes it less of a hassle for drivers, because during peak traffic hours traffic was not impeded by construction. At night, the lights go on, the signs go up and the workers get to paving. 

It may have disrupted people close to the road with the noise and lights at night. But for most people who use the roads, it’s much less hassle.

“It was a conscious decision for night work due to the roadway being a busy arterial roadway moving a large volume of traffic during the daytime hours,” Abbas wrote in an email. 

Working at night can run up costs. We weren’t able to get an estimate of how much more it cost to do the work on Eighth Street at night. Labor costs can go up 20% or more. Keeping a lane of traffic open during construction can extend the time it takes to get it done, but limit impact to travelers.

Is that always worth it? Maybe, not always. 

You can always help the city decide by giving feedback to the Bend City Council at council@bendoregon.gov.