Connect Oregon Continues Creating Successes
The Oregon Department of Transportation is improving access and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians through the Connect Oregon program, funded through state lottery bonds.
Construction began in July 2020 on Flanders Crossing, a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over I‐405 at NW Flanders Street in Portland. When complete, Flanders Crossing will be 24-feet wide and stretch 200 feet across I-405, with two-way access for pedestrians and people on bikes. It will also serve as a seismic lifeline route in the case of a major earthquake.
Meanwhile, a smaller project in Medford, a 12-foot-wide, paved shared-use path approximately 3,500 feet long, from Ellendale Drive to Black Oak Drive, includes the street crossings on each end, at Ellendale Drive and Black Oak Drive.
These multimodal projects have as part of their funding significant contributions from the Connect Oregon program, which is managed by ODOT’s Statewide Investments Management Program and is funded through lottery bonds.
“We’ve been closing out quite a few projects in the past couple of months,” said Cece Gilbert, program analyst.
Connect Oregon started in 2006 and quickly showed success as a way to fund multimodal projects: rail, transit, bike/ped, air, and marine/ports. The program changed several times over the years but has always resulted in projects with multiple benefits, such as the Fred Wahl Marine project on the central Oregon coast. The company – the largest private employer in Reedsport – received a $3.4 million Connect Oregon grant to build a nine-story shipbuilding facility. That investment has boosted the coastal community’s economy, created jobs, and helped support shipping – even through economic challenges.
Read additional stories from this state:
2021
- Changing light fixtures creates $700,000 savings
- Eastern Oregon public transit helps communities thrive
- Project overcomes challenges
- Wildlife under-crossing in central Oregon reaches milestone
2020
