Stoplight to be installed for project

Sisters will have its first stoplight - albeit a temporary one - for the duration of the Cascade Avenue construction closure in 2014.

At the first Sisters City Council workshop of the new year Thursday, the newly seated council wasted no time in tasking Department of Public Works director Paul Bertagna to develop a working agreement with ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) and the freight commission that will put a temporary, demand-controlled traffic signal at the intersection of Barclay and Highway 20.

"The purpose of the temporary signal is to address the freight commission's safety concerns about eastbound trucks having to turn across westbound traffic on US 20 to access the truck detour on Barclay (during the closure of Cascade Avenue)," said Bertagna.

It is anticipated that this temporary traffic light will be turned on only during the closure of Cascade Avenue from March 1, 2014 through May 31, 2014. Bertagna apologized in advance for what will probably be a pretty "sketchy" looking temporary light and control system placement.

There will be signage on Highway 20 warning eastbound traffic of the light ahead.

This traffic light will be the first publicly tangible step in the process of implementing traffic control at the busy intersection of Barclay and Highway 20. The intersection is sometimes referred to as "the Outlaw 500" due to the difficulty Barclay traffic encounters in getting across Highway 20 to the high school, home of the Outlaws.

ODOT and the city, with the cooperation and input from the state's freight advisory commission, continue to work together on the final design parameters for a roundabout. The current STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) budget includes one-half of the funds for the construction of a roundabout. The second half of the funding is proposed in the 2015/2016 STIP plan.

The 2015/2016 STIP is currently being developed at the local (Central Oregon) level. The Barclay roundabout is tied for second out of 14 after the last round of evaluations.