Elected leaders in central and southern Oregon are asking the legislature to help pay for tens of millions of dollars in safety improvements along U.S. Highway 97, one of the state’s most dangerous roads. But major uncertainties circling the future of state transportation funding are clouding the effort.
County commissioners from three counties — Jefferson, Deschutes and Klamath — formed a coalition earlier this year to advocate for projects like concrete median barriers, wider shoulders, rumble strips and passing lanes, along with more safety education and police patrols. The coalition penned a letter in February to transportation committees in the legislature urging them to make U.S. Highway 97 safety improvements a “top investment priority” in 2026 and 2027. All nine commissioners from the three counties signed on, and the Bend City Council signed on last week. Meanwhile, county commissioners met with lawmakers on transportation committees during this winter’s short legislative session in Salem, along with local representatives, to emphasize the issue.
Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang told the Source the counties received positive feedback during those meetings, but some of that may be because they aren’t asking for specific projects or dollar amounts just yet.
“You go and tell people that Highway 97 is dangerous and we need to do something about it, they’re of course going to agree with you,” Chang said. “When you ask them for specific projects and ask them to put $80 million on the table, then they’re going to start to think about how do we pay for that, where do we get the money, and what are the political costs of making that money available.”
The Oregon Department of Transportation describes U.S. Highway 97, which stretches from the Columbia River Gorge to the border with California, as the main north-south artery through Central Oregon and a critical part of the state’s transportation system.
It’s also deadly. According to a 2024 investigation by the Source, U.S. 97 had the highest rate of fatalities to crashes among three of the state’s major highways, including Interstate 5 and U.S. 101. There were 3,461 crashes during a five-year period from 2018 through 2022, the reporting showed. That’s nearly two per day, and 97 of them were fatal. ODOT safety studies have shown many crashes occur at intersections when drivers turn on and off the road, with speed as a major factor.
Several projects constructed in recent years could help quell frequent crashes. In 2024 ODOT completed the Bend North Corridor Project, a $185 million reconstruction of U.S. 97 and U.S. 20 meant to improve traffic flow. A $39 million project is underway in Terrebonne, where the state is building a new “dog bone” interchange along with pedestrian crossings, new signage, striping turn lanes and more. In 2022, ODOT completed a $25 million project that included adding lanes to U.S. 97 near Sunriver. In the last few years, ODOT has installed concrete medians on the highway between Bend and Redmond, meant to reduce head-on crashes.
One area of focus in the future could be the 15-mile stretch between Terrebonne and Madras, where ODOT recently completed a safety study that highlighted several dangerous intersections and an uptick in fatal crashes.
Much of the funding for U.S. 97 projects came from HB 2017, the last major transportation funding package the Oregon legislature passed in 2017. Now, ODOT leaders have warned that floundering revenue streams are not enough to keep up with road maintenance like snowplowing and debris removal — much less pay for big-budget highway projects. Last year Oregon Democrats passed a $4.3 funding package to keep the transportation agency running by raising the tax on fuel by six cents and hiking fees. But Republicans led an effort to repeal the new law with a ballot measure in the upcoming May election, arguing the budget problems could be solved with other reforms and more accountability and efficiency for ODOT.
As a short-term fix, the legislature reduced ODOT’s budget by $80 million, leading the agency to leave open 130 vacant positions and reduce funding for programs like Safe Routes to School, which teaches kids bicycle and pedestrian safety, and Connect Oregon, which awards grants for air, rail and marine travel.
Chang, who serves on the Oregon Transportation Commission, the governor-appointed board that oversees ODOT, said he agrees the agency could save some money by being more efficient, but not enough to pay for transportation projects and programs the state needs.
“I have to hope that we realize we are at this crisis moment for our transportation infrastructure in the state of Oregon, so that we can move ahead,” Chang said.
Chang added that he hopes the coalition of elected leaders backing U.S. 97 safety improvements can serve as a model for bipartisan consensus on transportation.
Jefferson County Commissioner Seth Taylor said he wants to grow the coalition, adding cities up and down the corridor, so it can capitalize when funding does become available. He sees it as an equity of funding issue, arguing too much state money has gone to “mega-fund” projects in Portland like the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, which was partially funded by the legislature in 2017.
Chang and Taylor said they’re also seeking federal funding to pay for U.S. 97 improvements.
“The recognition is there now,” Taylor told the Source. “There’s enough people on record stating it’s a needed issue. So I’m hoping we can get something done. If not, we’re going to keep pounding the pavement, we’re going to keep hounding them for funding. This isn’t going away. We’re not going to stay quiet.”
This article appears in the Source April 23, 2026.
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Thanks for addressing some of the issues for the community on HWY 97 and the specific areas affected, but where is the public comment inLapine on this issue? There is no movement on any off-ramps or access from the West, and only one traffic light.