On Thursday, the Oregon Transportation Commission allocated an additional $67 million to repair and revitalize 82nd Avenue in Portland in advance of the road’s transfer to the city of Portland.
In the past, ODOT, city officials, legislators, and community stakeholders agreed the road should be transferred from the state to the city. Still, the city required updates to its current condition before it would accept the transfer.
“The 82nd Avenue corridor in the city was once an important state highway, but its design no longer reflects the needs of the community or the urban nature of 82nd today,” said Oregon Transportation Commission Chair Bob Van Brocklin. “The roadway is now the home of the growing Jade District and carries TriMet’s busiest bus route. It’s also become increasingly dangerous for users, tragically highlighted by the deaths of pedestrians that occurred on 82nd Avenue earlier this year.
The legislature previously agreed to provide $80 million to fund road upgrades, while the city agreed to invest $35 million. The additional funds agreed to Thursday will complete the $185 million of corridor improvements, Van Brocklin said.
“It’s time to redesign the road to reflect the community that has grown around it,” he said. “This funding and the transfer to Portland of 82nd Avenue inside the city limits will ensure that this diverse and growing community, that has historically seen underinvestment from all levels of government, will soon receive the urban boulevard they have asked for and deserve.”
Once transferred, the city will start a series of projects that will transform the roadway from its current state as a highway to its future state as an urban boulevard. Under the transfer agreement, the city will own and maintain the entire section of roadway – about seven miles from NE Killingsworth south to the city boundary at SE Clatsop Street.