Sisters 'Y' intersection work starts

The "Y" intersection will be replaced by this new configuration. map courtesy of ODOT

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The "Y" intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 242 will soon be safer, according to officials from the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Construction workers broke ground on Monday, April 4, to begin construction of the Sisters Intersection West Project, which will reconfigure the intersection. The $565,300 project is slated for completion on June 30.

The new alignment will allow eastbound traffic on Highway 20 to turn right onto Highway 242 and eastbound Highway 242 traffic to curve left onto the new alignment and then turn right onto Highway 20 toward downtown (see map on page 30).

The existing westbound access to Highway 242 will be permanently removed; westbound access to Highway 242 will be from a reconstructed Hood Avenue extension running between the two highways.

The project also involves building curbs and sidewalks and constructing a right-in, right-out access between the two highways.

The right-in, right-out-only access will keep cars from crossing in front of incoming traffic to access the westbound Highway 242. That situation is a safety threat in the existing Y intersection, ODOT officials said at a public information meeting held Friday, April 2, at the Sisters Fire Hall.

"It's pretty dangerous," said Julianne Repman, public affairs officer for ODOT. "So hopefully people will see a positive change. Even better, no one will notice and it will feel natural."

ODOT has been meeting regularly to discuss options to improve the intersection since 2000, said Ron Snell, project manager.

He said the intersection is listed among the top 15 percent safety priorities in the Sisters Transportation Plan, which was adopted in June 2001. In the year 2002, ODOT recorded an average of 11,500 trips per day through the intersection, Repman said.

Jeff Taylor, who owns the Les Schwab shop on Highway 242, said he is pleased with the final plans for the intersection.

Taylor said that at one point he heard talk about closing off the McKenzie Highway at the intersection by the motor lodge and turning it into a cul-de-sac.

He said he is glad ODOT did not go with that option, which would have put him on a dead-end street.

He said the final decision should help prevent some accidents like those he's seen during his time working near the intersection.

"It's a good safety improvement," Taylor said. "It is a problem. I've seen accidents in both directions. People have a tendency when they are traveling eastbound to look behind them and not see the cars in front of them. I saw a motorcycle make a left turn on 242 and hit a car."

Not everyone, however, is in complete favor of the project.

David Moyer, an incident response coordinator for ODOT, said he attended Friday's meeting as a private citizen because he is opposed to certain aspects of the project.

Moyer said he has worked on road maintenance, and thus knows it will be difficult to plow snow away from the two-foot wide, seven-inch tall median, which will run down the middle of a portion of Highway 20. The median will prevent left turns on the new access between Highway 20 and Highway 242.

"As a citizen, I oppose them trying to eliminate left-hand turns," Moyer said. "I think people need to be smart enough to make their own decisions."

Travelers who want to turn left onto one of the highways will be able to at Hood Avenue.

Officials said Hood Avenue will be completely reconstructed with eight inches of base rock and six inches of concrete, to become a straight two-lane highway, which will meet federal highway standards.

The turning lane from westbound Highway 20 onto Hood Avenue will be extended to be at least twice its existing size, ODOT officials said.

The new turning lane will be 300 feet long and fit six school busses.

A four-way stop sign will be placed at the Hood Avenue/ Highway 242 intersection. Also, curbs will be built along the outside of the Hood Avenue/Highway 20/Highway 242 triangle, and new sidewalks will be built with ADA ramps on the outside of Highway 242 from the Y intersection to Hood Avenue.

Highway 20 will be two feet wider on each side to account for the curb.