Marc Butorac, senior principal engineer with Kittelson & Associates, talks with members of the community about a preliminary design to reroute traffic along U.S. Highway 97 during an open house for the Terrebonne Refinement Plan at the Terrebonne Community School on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. (Ryan Brennecke/Bulletin file photo)

TERREBONNE — State transportation officials met with residents this week in an effort to find common ground on a proposed highway safety project that was stalled last month by the Deschutes County Commission.

About two dozen people attended a Tuesday meeting at the Terrebonne Community School library to offer input and hear from the Oregon Department of Transpiration.

Bob Townsend, ODOT area manager, asked the residents — mostly local business owners — for their thoughts about the project. Residents were given green and red signs to indicate if they agreed or disagreed with different ideas.

“We are trying to find consensus on how do we keep moving the process forward,” Townsend said.

The meeting was the first in a series of meetings. The next one will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Terrebonne Community School gym.

Townsend said ODOT is not trying to reinvent the entire safety project, but rather trying to find ways to tweak it. The proposed project is the result of several public meetings over the past two years.

The project would create two southbound lanes on the existing U.S. Highway 97 and two northbound lanes using 11th Street in Terrebonne.

A roundabout would be built at the Lower Bridge Way intersection to circulate traffic north and south.

“To give respect to the process we have already done, we are mediating concerns instead of starting over,” Townsend said.

Last month, the Deschutes County Commission voted 2-1 to stall the project and keep it from going to the Oregon Transportation Commission.

Commissioners Phil Henderson and Patti Adair indicated they needed to hear more of a consensus from residents before they would support the project.

Henderson, who attended the meeting Tuesday, has concerns that the available funding from the state — about $20 million — is only enough to fund the proposed plan and no other option. On Tuesday, Henderson questioned why the region did not get more funding from the $5.3 billion approved for the state’s highway system during the 2017 legislative session.

“Why is there $5 billion from the transportation measure and why is this Central Oregon corridor getting so little?” Henderson said Tuesday.

At the meeting and in past public comment, many Terrebonne residents have expressed a common concern about the proposed plan to turn 11th Street into a northbound highway.

Terrebonne resident Bill Jordan, who owns the property that houses the Pump House Bar & Grill off 11th Street, said Tuesday he is 100% against the idea of turning 11th Street into a highway.

Jordan said he would rather have ODOT focus on circulating traffic at Lower Bridge Way, which connects to Crooked River Ranch, and then focus on solutions through Terrebonne.

“I think they should make Lower Bridge Way a really good functioning system and take additional funds and use them in appropriate ways on Highway 97 through the Terrebonne area,” Jordan said.

Myrna Colvin, a Crooked River Ranch resident and Terrebonne Grange member, came to the meeting Tuesday to learn more about the proposed plan. Colvin said she understands people’s concerns with using 11th Street as a highway.

Common concerns from other residents Tuesday included increased speeds on 11th Street, lack of access to businesses and safety for pedestrians in the area.

“To me, I could see the problems for the businesses,” Colvin said.

Townsend, of ODOT, told the crowd Tuesday he hopes to continue honest conversations with the community at future meetings.

“We are going to continue the dialog,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, kspurr@bendbulletin.com