Work beginning on ODOT median on south Hwy. 97

Drivers may not like it, but roadwork on a stretch of U.S. Highway 97 south of Bend set to start tonight will make the road safer, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Workers from Hooker Creek Asphalt and Paving LLC will begin the first stages of installing a knee-high concrete median at 10 p.m. The median will begin at the south end of the Bend Parkway where it turns into Third Street and will extend south to the intersection at Baker Road, ODOT spokesman Rex Holloway said.

The $4.4 million project will close down northbound and southbound left lanes tonight and most weekday nights through November.

When the project is finished, drivers will not be able to make left-hand turns onto Highway 97 from Romaine Village Way, Ponderosa Street, Rocking Horse Road or China Hat Road.

”It’s going to make for longer travel time for people in that area, but our primary job is to keep people safe,” Holloway said. ”After the accident last year, we couldn’t wait any longer.

In November, two semitrailer drivers were killed in a fiery head-on crash on Highway 97 near Romaine Village Way.

Between 2004 and 2006, ODOT statistics show, 19 crashes resulted in two fatalities, two people with severe injuries and a number of other accidents along that stretch of road, Holloway said.

”We believe a concrete median barrier could’ve prevented half of those,” he said.

Between 24,000 and 25,000 drivers travel that stretch of highway each day, and that number keeps growing, he said.

”With the ever-increasing traffic, what we’re finding is, the more traffic you have, the more chances people take because there’s not a lot of time when all that traffic is clear.”

The first stages of the work will involve temporarily removing the existing barrier near Baker Road. Workers will then resurface all lanes of the road, which is expected to start the week of June 11.

”So there will be periodic shifting of traffic from one lane to another over the life of the project so that we can resurface all lanes,” Holloway said.

After the resurfacing, workers will replace the existing barrier and then implement the new one.

Finally, they will install a permanent ”variable message sign” in the median, just south of the railroad crossing. The sign will broadcast ”Amber Alerts” and other emergencies to northbound motorists.

Holloway hopes drivers will be patient and heed the construction zone speed limits, which will be reduced to 45 mph in the construction area.

He also hopes motorists understand they may have to take a few more minutes to get where they’re going. They may need to drive to the intersection at Baker Road or cross over Pinebrook Boulevard or Powers Road.

”The good news is that once it’s done, the roadway itself is going to be great,” Holloway said.

median work on Hwy. 97

A project to add a median at the south end of the Bend Parkway will close down northbound and southbound left lanes through November according to the following schedule:

* 10 p.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday

* 6 p.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday

* 6 p.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday

* 6 p.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday

* 6 p.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday