Between North Albany and Corvallis, U.S. 20 is a rural two-lane highway with heavy commuter traffic of more than 18,000 vehicles per day. In addition to motorists, many bicyclists use this corridor.
This portion of the highway has a high volume of crashes and poor visibility for travelers turning on and off U.S. 20. In 2016, ODOT completed the U.S. 20 Highway Safety Study and recommended a variety of safety improvements along this corridor, some of which are being implemented as part of this project.
Phase One: Safety Upgrades
U.S. 20 at Granger Avenue and Independence Highway will be worked on by construction crews. Key issues that have sparked the need for upgrades include a high number of crashes from cars turning onto the highway, increased traffic reducing the number of acceptable gaps/breaks in traffic for turning, limited sight distance at county road intersections due to right turning vehicle queues and limited distance between highway and railroad.
Crews will correct these issues by executing the following:
- Installing a buffered right turn lane (westbound);
- Installing a median acceleration lane for left turning vehicles (eastbound);
- Adding striping and signing to guide bicycles through the intersections;
- Upgrading signing and striping for railroad crossings;
- Adding centerline and shoulder rumble strips;
- Stormwater treatment;
- Building a short section of multiuse path above a new 20-ft. high retaining wall at Independence Highway for forward compatibility with the planned Benton County Bikeway.
U.S. 20 Near Garland Nursery
Key issues in this area include vehicles heading westbound run off of the road at the outside edge of curve and rear end crashes when vehicles slow down to enter the nursery.
Improvements in this area include:
- Widening shoulders;
- Adding centerline and shoulder rumble strips;
- Raising the outside edge of pavement on the curve;
- Remove fixed objects (trees or poles) near the outside of the curve/north side of highway where possible.
Phase 2 Proposed Schedule
The second phase of construction for this project will work in the area of Conifer Boulevard to Merloy Avenue. Key issues for this portion of the project are rear end and turning crashes due to slowing vehicles and limited gaps and a large number of highway accesses/driveways.
Proposed improvements include:
- Adding a center two way left turn lane;
- Treating stormwater runoff;
- Replacing sidewalk with a short section of multiuse path on the east side between Conifer Boulevard and NE Pilkington Avenue for forward compatibility with the planned Benton County Bikeway project currently in development.
Project Schedule
- Phase One: Construction from December 2021 to August 2023;
- Phase Two: Construction from early 2023 to October 2023;
- Future Improvements: Field work and preliminary design from Spring 2023 - Spring 2024.
