Sound Off: Submit Your Opinion About New Hawthorne Crossing Designs

The Oregon Department of Public Transportation has launched an online open house to offer the public the latest updates — and to solicit feedback — on the long-anticipated Hawthorne Crossing that will connect east and west Bend above Highway 97 and the railroad tracks.

The online open house, which debuted on Nov. 19 and is akin to a slideshow presentation with a questionnaire, lays out project goals, mockups of potential designs and a construction timeline. The open house will receive input until Dec. 9.

Additionally, ODOT is hosting an in-the-world open house at Dogwood at The Pine Shed, on Dec. 2 from 4:30-6:30 pm. The cocktail lounge, which opened in February, is a key catalyst for the Bend Central District, a planned mixed-use community, the Source reported in June.

Because of federal funding requirements, ODOT will lead and manage the design and construction of Hawthorne Crossing, with the City of Bend serving as a partner supporting local road development.

The latest vision for the project involves a steel truss bridge design that is a notably scaled-back version of the original and cost-prohibitive design the Bend City Council voted 4-2 for in August 2024. That version resembled Portland’s Tilikum Crossing for its cable-stayed sleekness.

This adopted steel truss design had already won the public’s vote among three other options for its affordability, ease of construction and maintenance. It’s also about $4 million cheaper than the single cable-stay design, according to a July 2024 report by the city, if less visually striking. Yet the steel bridge concept has been zhuzhed up with “Broken Top” trusses that ODOT says evokes a “Three Sisters” theme elsewhere in its presentation. Regardless, the jagged trusses do look mountainous. The fully realized design will be published next year.

A rendering of the truss bridge design, as viewed from the top. Credit: ODOT/City of Bend

The bridge project has a $32 million budget, with $31 million coming from state and federal sources — including a $20 million federal grant and about $5 million from the state, the Source reported in September. The City of Bend is contributing $1 million in local funds.

Measuring 22 feet wide, the bridge prototype features an 18-foot shared-use path for cyclists, pedestrians and those using mobility devices. ODOT suggests the slope of the bridge be 8%. At the city’s Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting on Nov. 20, a representative from the city’s engineering department presented slope options for the committee to mull over, a city official said.

Landings will join NE Hill and Second Streets and connect to street-level improvements that complement a pedestrian and cyclist network at NE Harriman and Second streets.

Officials have yet to decide on the bicycle lanes — and that’s where the public can add its input, since the Hawthorne Crossing is still in its preliminary design phase. That began at the start of summer 2025 and will stretch through summer 2026. The final design phase will begin in fall 2026 and run through Summer s027. Bidding will happen that fall. Construction is slotted to begin spring 2028 and run through fall. Officials are asking the public to pick one of four proposed street designs, which include a shared street, a promenade street, buffered bike lanes, or a two-way cycling track on either side of Hawthorne Crossing.

The online open house also includes updates on other aspects of the Midtown Crossings Project, such as that along Franklin Avenue, the Bend Bikeways Project and the Olney Avenue Improvements Project.