SB Denney Road ramps will close Sunday night as part of OR 217 improvements
These maps show detours to use during the closures of the southbound Denney Road ramps, which begin April 30.
April 27, 2023
Contact: Don Hamilton, 503-704-7452
BEAVERTON -- The southbound OR 217 on-ramp and off-ramp at Denney Road will both close at 9 p.m. Sunday night April 30 while crews build a new frontage road as part of the OR 217 Auxiliary Lanes Project that will bring major improvements to the west side corridor.
The new frontage road will replace the Allen Boulevard southbound on-ramp and the Denney Road southbound off-ramp. The ramp closures will allow crews to finish the frontage road, which will reduce the number of merges onto the highway mainline, a major cause of sideswipe crashes.
After the five-month closure, the Denney Road off-ramp from southbound OR 217 will then be part of the new frontage road between southbound Allen Boulevard and Denney Road. It will no longer serve as an off-ramp from the highway. At that time, the Denney Road southbound on-ramp will re-open and the new frontage road will open.
The project will ease congestion, improve safety and provide smoother trips but also will create expanded opportunities for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Another closure got under way Monday April 24 when one of the westbound lanes on the Hall Boulevard overpass closed between Scholls Ferry and Cascade Avenue in Beaverton. The closure allows crews to widen the overpass and build new sidewalk and bicycle lanes and will continue 24/7 until Thanksgiving. Thanks to our funding partners at the City of Beaverton and Washington County, we're filling in a missing piece of the bike and pedestrian network and making it easier and safer for everyone to get around.
The OR 217 Auxiliary Lanes 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.
The OR 217 project remains on schedule after the first 16 months of work. Go here to see a summary of the first year’s work.
We aren't just making improvements to the highway. We also are making 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 now 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 plans calling for a modern transportation system. The OR 217 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.
|
