OR 217 closing overnight Jan. 12, Greenburg Road to OR 99W, to remove a sign bridge
Dec. 28, 2022
For more information, contact Don Hamilton, 503-704-7452
TIGARD -- All lanes of OR 217 will close in both directions from 11 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12 to 5 a.m. Friday, Jan. 13 between Greenburg Road and OR 99W while crews remove an overhead sign bridge that spans all lanes of the highway.
The closure between the two adjacent exits is part of the vital OR 217 Auxiliary Lanes Project and will make the road safer, ease bottlenecks and complete the parallel bicycle and pedestrian network. Work began one year ago, in December 2021, and will continue through 2025.
During the closure, all southbound traffic will exit OR 217 at the Greenburg Road off-ramp and all northbound traffic will exit OR 217 at the OR 99W off-ramp.
Several on-ramps leading up to this area will also close:
- Southbound Hall Boulevard on-ramp
- Southbound Scholls Ferry Road on-ramp
- Southbound Greenburg Road on-ramp
- Northbound 72nd Avenue on-ramp
- Northbound OR 99W on-ramp
A new, upgraded sign bridge will be installed later in the OR 217 project, which will run through 2025.
The project remains on schedule after the first of four years of work. Go here to see a summary of the first year’s work.
The project will construct auxiliary lanes in both directions of OR 217 between Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and OR 99W. Auxiliary lanes are ramp-to-ramp connections on the highway that help reduce congestion by giving drivers more space and time to merge safely. This decreases conflicts, improves safety and the flow of traffic, and ultimately allows the existing lanes to work more efficiently. We expect up to 73,000 hours of travel time saved each year with these improvements.
We aren't just making improvements to the highway itself. We also need to make the area surrounding OR 217 safer for all users. In partnership with the City of Beaverton and Washington County, we are making targeted improvements to local bicycle and pedestrian routes.
Project benefits include:
- New pedestrian and bicycle improvements enhancing local neighborhoods and expanding opportunities for people walking, bicycling and rolling.
- Auxiliary lanes we expect will reduce highway crashes by 20% to 30%.
- A frontage road for southbound drivers connecting Allen Boulevard and Denney Road, making trips safer for drivers by decreasing merges onto OR 217.
OR 217, once a local road with traffic signals, runs for 7.5 miles between Beaverton and Tigard with 10 interchanges, some of the shortest freeway merging spacing in the region. The short interchange spacing on a road with an average of 120,000 vehicles a day leads to high crash rates and resulting travel delays.
The project cost of $158 million comes primarily from HB 2017, the Keep Oregon Moving transportation package approved by the Legislature in 2017. The City of Beaverton and Washington County are also funding partners.
The project aligns with our Strategic Action Plan calling for a modern transportation system. The effort employs many tools necessary on a modern highway system, including modern roadway safety features and full corridor facilities for people walking and riding bicycles.
All lanes of OR 217 will close the night of Thursday Jan. 12 between Greenburg Road and OR 99W
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