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In this email:
We’re celebrating the completion of all major elements of the OR 217 Auxiliary Lanes Project - delivered on time after four years of planned construction. We worked to improve safety and address longstanding bottlenecks on OR 217 while also completing key connections in the adjacent bicycle and pedestrian network. We expect that the new improvements will decrease crashes on the highway by 20-30% and save over 73,000 hours of travel time every year.
Thank you to the community, our project partners, and construction crews for your patience and collaboration in achieving this important milestone.
Learn more about the key improvements below or watch our project completion video.
Auxiliary Lanes
 Placed over 19,000 tons of asphalt and added five miles of new auxiliary lanes, resulting in less congestion, increased merging distance and a safer highway with fewer crashes.
Frontage Road
 Built a new southbound frontage road between Allen Boulevard and Denney Road. The new frontage road decreases highway merging, making trips safer for drivers.
Hall Boulevard Overpass in Tigard
 Rebuilt the Hall Boulevard overpass in Tigard including wider sidewalks and bicycle lanes, ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps and increased earthquake resilience.
Hall Boulevard Overpass in Beaverton
 Widened the Hall Boulevard overpass in Beaverton by 19 feet to support a new sidewalk and bike lanes and fill in a missing link in the bicycle/pedestrian network. This work was in partnership with the City of Beaverton.
Denney Road Overpass
 Widened the sidewalk on the Denney Road overpass by 4.5 feet to accommodate two-way bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
Other project highlights:
- Widened and reconfigured ramps at six interchanges.
- Partnered with the City of Beaverton to connect the Fanno Creek Trail to Allen Boulevard, completing the north/south parallel bicycle and pedestrian network.
- Added four sound walls.
- Widened shoulders to accommodate emergency response vehicles.
- Built nine retaining walls.
- Installed 2,100 feet of protective fencing and 23,000 feet of guardrail.
- Installed 19,000 feet of pipes and 18 storm swales and retention ponds.
Final touches, clean-up, and landscaping work will continue into 2026. You will continue to see some construction barrels, cones, and equipment in place as crews complete this finishing work. No major traffic impacts are expected aside from short-term, intermittent single-lane and shoulder closures on the highway.
We will continue to update the project website to reflect any minimal impacts.
The OR 217 Auxiliary Lanes Project constructed 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 didn't just make improvements to the highway itself. We also made the area surrounding OR 217 safer for all users. In partnership with the City of Beaverton and Washington County, we made targeted improvements to local bicycle and pedestrian routes.
Learn more about this project and stay up-to-date with current traffic impacts by visiting the project website.
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