For years, Bend residents have called on the City of Bend to address a train crossing along a busy section of Reed Market Road, between SE 15th Street and Third Street. With several trains crossing each day, stopping anywhere between five minutes to upward of 20, the City of Bend is attempting to alleviate issues with travel time reliability by eliminating the railroad crossing and constructing an overpass over the railroad.
The railroad crossing can often cause severe congestion and delay travel times on a highly trafficked east-west route. While many residents are in support of this long-term solution, others wonder how the project, and its construction, will impact traffic flow in an already congested area.
A Permanent Solution
After hearing from residents and receiving feedback through the Transportation System Plan update in 2020, the City identified the Reed Market railroad crossing as a major pressure point for travelers due to frequent railroad stops. According to City project engineer Sinclair Burr, trains stop at the crossing approximately six to eight times a day.
“People can’t rely on that — the ability to get across town via that important arterial,” Burr told the Source Weekly.
Many ambulance and fire-truck drivers, he said, also refuse to use the road to get across town, deeming it unreliable.
In January, the City of Bend also received $32 million in federal funds for the project — the largest amount of grant funding that has ever been awarded to the City. The project was also identified in the General Obligation Bond that voters passed in 2020.
“By utilizing local GO Bond funds as a match for this grant, the City of Bend is maximizing the impact of the GO Bond by leveraging additional federal funds to ensure our transportation system grows and improves alongside our community’s growth,” read a press release.
While Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler voiced concerns about potential threats to federal funding in February for infrastructure projects like the Reed Market overpass, Burr said the project is currently continuing as normal.
Construction for the project is set to take place from 2027 through 2028. Burr anticipates that the City will have a design of the overpass to show residents in late spring or early summer.
Construction Impacts
Just last week, the City received its initial draft traffic study, which identifies how the City can mitigate traffic during construction.
Some of the anticipated traffic impacts include a full closure of Reed Market, near the project site, along with a closure of Ninth Street, another high-traffic, north-south route attached to Reed Market. The draft traffic study, Burr said, addresses the importance of the Ninth Street connection and demonstrates how important the Reed Market bridge construction is overall to the City’s transportation system.
While there were initial discussions about Ninth Street not being tied back into Reed Market in the future, Burr said, as of March 21, the City is optimistic it can keep Ninth Street connected to Reed Market once the project is finished.
Burr acknowledged that these main road closures will impact traffic patterns, causing congestion on detour routes.
Burr added that the improvements to Wilson Avenue, a likely popular detour in the area, will help alleviate some of the stress. Additionally, the City will attempt to keep American Lane open during the majority of the construction, another vital road attached to Reed Market near the crossing.
Opposition from Nearby Businesses
While many residents see the need for this project, some businesses along Reed Market and Ninth Street oppose the project, citing traffic concerns and business area access. Craig Simpson, owner of Specialty Automative Service & Repair, along Ninth Street near the entrance to Reed Market, is sounding the alarms on potential impacts to businesses in the area.
On March 19, Simpson held a meeting with neighbors to discuss concerns. About 20 nearby homeowners and business owners were in attendance and had similar concerns regarding project construction.
Simpson’s concerns mostly revolve around the closure of Ninth Street, during construction and possibly after, and the traffic that planned detours will cause. Simpson, along with other business owners in the area, believes the City should have done more research on the traffic impacts before moving forward with the project.
“It sounds great to build a bridge over railroad tracks, but by closing roads, people are going to have to be rerouted,” Simpson said.
With detoured traffic likely moving through Wilson Avenue, Simpson worries patrons will get stuck along Ninth Street, near their businesses. The train, which also goes across Wilson Avenue, causes significant traffic delays for the roundabout connecting to Wilson, he said.
“In order for people to get to us, they’re going to go a roundabout way. Reed Market was a major influx there. I think the traffic jams we’re going to have at roundabouts is going to be a nightmare,” Simpson told the Source Weekly. “There’s not a great solution. It’s just going to be a mess no matter what.”
The City plans to continue studying traffic impacts, identifying what it can do to mitigate traffic that will take place during the construction of this project. While the City recognizes the temporary closure will be challenging for residents who utilize the route, Burr is confident that the project will make up for it in the long run.
This article appears in The Source Weekly March 20, 2025.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Maybe the City of Bend should stop taking handouts from developers and force some of these developers that are contributing to these issues to help pay for such an overpass? Yah right. COB is too busy catering to developers and Brooks Resources.
Maybe the City of Bend should manage our taxpayers money more efficiently. Do we really want or need a bridge on Hawthorne to cross over the 97 and railroad? Did anybody think that reducing the two lanes to one lane on Greenwood was a good idea? Is closing down our downtown to pedestrian foot traffic and building parking garages another great idea? This city waste OUR money for their “pet projects” without any concern for its citizens……I loved Bend when I first moved here but the entire dynamic has changed and not for the better!!!