Roadwork is underway on Highway 97 near Sunriver to add a median, widen the highway and add a new wildlife underpass.
ODOT has started clearing trees in the area to make room for the new lanes just south of the South Century Drive/Sunriver interchange.
“This essentially is a safety project, what we will do is create two lanes of traffic going south and two lanes going north, where currently there is only one lane in both directions,” said ODOT spokesman Peter Murphy. “By virtue of doing that and putting a median in between them, we’ve created a much safer driving environment for the increasing crowds, travel we see on the highway”
The project is estimated to cost about $25 million and could be completed late next year.
