Local News

New La Pine Signal Ready

LA PINE, OR -- It’s taken six months, but a new traffic signal in downtown La Pine is finally ready to be turned on. Peter Murphy, with the Oregon Department of Transportation admits the agency typically prefers to keep traffic moving on Highway 97, but made an exception for the First Street intersection. "There was a lot of cross-highway foot traffic from kids going over from the high school to the retail shopping center there. Plus, the city council had an interest in doing something to advance economic development in the area and felt that by having a stop signal there that they could do that. So, from those two perspectives, ODOT was convinced that it was a unique situation for the city of La Pine and we went ahead with the plan to go ahead and put a light in."

 

Along with installing the signal, ODOT also realigned a portion of the roadway to improve visibility. "Right there, where the roads bump up against the Highway, there were some sight issues. By squaring it up, it makes it easier to see what’s coming at you. So, it just makes the turning motions easier. Plus, we put in some turning lanes," Murphy tells KBND.
 
He says the majority of the 1.5-million dollar project is finished, but some final testing is required before the light can be activated … he expects that to happen Wednesday afternoon.

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