Cascade Avenue to re-open on Friday

Cascade Avenue will re-open to through traffic on Friday morning, May 16.

"Traffic patterns are going to go back to the pre-construction state," said Oregon Department of Transportation Community Liaison Ann Fisher. "Or, for locals - normal."

That includes removal of the temporary signal at Barclay Drive and Highway 20 on Monday, May 19. Public officials urge drivers to be alert to the new driving conditions.

While the highway will be open to traffic - and parking will be allowed - the work is not complete. The top-coat of paving still needs to be applied. That's scheduled for the first week of June.

"That will be night paving," Fisher said. "They're going to do a continuous run so there's no seams."

Work on the streetscape will continue through the summer, with only minimal impediment to pedestrian traffic.

The work has gone on schedule, despite curveballs thrown at contractor Knife River by the condition of some Sisters buildings. Several buildings and decks had no footings and just sat on the sidewalk. Since the sidewalk is being replaced, that required some creative work-arounds.

"We had a great (ODOT) project coordinator, Bill Martin, who was able to make those decisions, coordinating with the contractor," Fisher said.

The City of Sisters is providing urban renewal district grants so that businesses can improve their façades in conjunction with the street project (see related story, page 3). Fisher noted that several property owners have stepped up to invest in improvement of their properties as the project has gone forward, as well.

The project was disruptive to downtown businesses, but not as catastrophic as some had feared.

"There was an impact, Fisher said. "It depends on who you talk to."

Some reported business declines of as much as 45 percent, but overall Fisher says there seems to have been a drop-off of about 20 percent attributable to the construction.

The streetscape renovation is expected to make downtown Sisters more pedestrian-friendly, which is in turn expected to improve the business climate for downtown merchants.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: editor@nuggetnews.com
• Phone: 5415499941