(Oct. 10, 2019) – Street improvements on SW 45th Avenue between Vermont and Caldew streets begin tomorrow, Oct. 11 through Oct. 25 from 7 a.m. through 4 p.m. each business day - and possibly weekends – with a full closure of SW 45th Avenue between Multnomah Boulevard and Vermont Street during work hours.
The closure will allow crews to grind and pave 0.6 lane miles of pavement to create a new, smoother street for travel.
In addition, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) crews will be adding a new crosswalk and bike lane connection on SW 45th Avenue between SW Pendleton Street and SW Nevada Street. The project will reorganize the road to provide a missing bike network connection between the neighborhood and the Southwest Community Center, Gabriel Park, and SW Vermont bike lanes. The project will also mark a crosswalk on SW 45th Avenue at SW Pendleton Street, and a turning box for people on bikes traveling northbound to help facilitate left turns onto SW Illinois Street.
The bike lane was first identified in the Portland Bike Plan for 2030 and has been prioritized for implementation in the Southwest in Motion Plan draft. The crosswalk supports Safe Routes to School access at Hayhurst Elementary. The bike lanes are funded by Fixing Our Streets, the 10-cent gas tax for fixing our streets and making them safer and the first local funding source in the city’s history dedicated exclusively to the city’s transportation needs.
During construction hours, travelers are requested to follow the signed detour route via SW 31st Avenue and Capitol Highway.
Streets with ground down surfaces are open for travel. The street closure will only be in effect during work hours. The narrow street and adjacent terrain make a full street closure during work hours necessary for the safety of travelers and work crews. Access will be maintained for businesses and residents during the project.
Please avoid the area if possible and expect delays as we repair this section of road. We ask the public to travel cautiously, observe all lane detours and directions by reader boards and flaggers, and use alternate routes if possible.
Learn what you can expect in our work zones and how you can help everyone stay safe by watching this video: https://youtu.be/lx3RkJjkjSE
How do PBOT crews repave a street? In this short video, PBOT crew members explain how they grind and pave our city streets to create new, smooth roads for you: https://youtu.be/f9tyo3NyLJ0
This work is weather-dependent, and the schedule may change.