More road closures to come with next phase of Bend’s Wilson Avenue Corridor Project

(Update: Adding video, comments by project engineer)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The next stage of the city of Bend's Wilson Avenue Corridor Project is set to begin Monday, Nov. 6, with a road closure impacting westbound traffic on Wilson Avenue between Ninth Street and Hill Street.

"So we're closing Wilson -- we kind of already have it closed in the westbound direction, between Fourth Street and Ninth Street," Senior Project Engineer Sinclair Burr explained Thursday. "We're extending that closure down to Hill (Street), so people on Wilson will not be able to go west over the parkway at that location to use Reed Market, Franklin or Colorado to get across the parkway.”

This closure is scheduled to last through next June, the city said. Local and emergency access will be maintained.

The Wilson Avenue Corridor is a multi-phase modernization project that will improve safety and east-west connectivity for all users along Wilson Avenue from Second Street to 15th Street. This is also an integral part of future improvements to Reed Market Road.

Construction on the project began back in March of 2022. There are three phases, with multiple stages, to minimize traffic impacts.

The city says this stage brings several significant improvements to the area, including a modernized signal and protected intersection design for bicyclists at Third Street and Wilson Avenue.

"We're replacing all the signal infrastructure there -- new poles, new controller," Burr said. "Currently, those poles are in a location where they get hit by trucks often, and we would like a much more resilient design there."

Other aspects of the project:

• Safer Pedestrian and Bicyclist Connections: Enhanced safety for pedestrians and bicyclists at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Second Street.
• Waterline Replacement and Stormwater Infrastructure Installation: Replacing aging waterlines and installing state-of-the-art stormwater infrastructure.

ROAD CLOSURE

Westbound Wilson Avenue will be closed to all traffic between Ninth Street and Hill Street. Local and emergency access will be maintained. Wilson Avenue traffic will be detoured via Ninth Street to Reed Market Road.

For more information about the project, including updates on traffic impacts and construction progress, visit bendoregon.gov/wilson.