82nd Avenue Critical Fixes: Beech and Ash Crossings

Transportation
Engineering And Design
As part of this project, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will make critical pedestrian safety improvements to 82nd Avenue at NE Beech Street and at SE Ash Street.
This image shows a rectangular rapid flashing beacon on 82nd Avenue.
Construction begins 2023
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What's happening now?

July 2023 Update

The project team and contractor are preparing for construction. Minor construction activity related to utility work is anticipated this summer. PBOT anticipates to begin construction in fall or winter 2023.

March 2023
The project team has finalized project designs and is preparing to go to bid. Construction will begin in summer 2023.

Project overview

An overhead perspective of 82nd avenue street includes two travel lanes, a middle turn lane with a new median island through the Ash intersection, new striped crosswalks and trees in the median.
Draft rendering of SE 82nd Avenue and SE Ash Street Crossing

PBOT will be adding features proven to reduce fatal and serious injuries occurring in traffic crashes along 82nd Avenue. In the most recent 5-year period, all 9 fatal crashes and more than half of the 59 serious injury crashes on 82nd Avenue in Portland were either pedestrians or cars turning at locations without signals.

Safe pedestrian crossings and medians are two of the most effective measures to reduce or eliminate these types of crashes. The new pedestrian crossings with tree-lined median islands will provide safe and comfortable places for people to cross 82nd, will reduce the risk of turning crashes, and will help define 82nd Avenue as street serving the community, not just a highway.

Overhead perspective of NE 82nd Avenue and NE Beech Street crossing, showing two travel lanes, a center turn lane, a median island with new trees through the Beech Street intersection, and new crosswalks.
Draft rendering of NE 82nd Avenue and NE Beech Street crossing.

As part of this project, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will make critical pedestrian safety improvements to 82nd Avenue at NE Beech Street and at SE Ash Street. The current crossings will be upgraded to new Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs). 

In addition to the RRFBs, PBOT will install accessible curb ramps and high-visibility crosswalks at both locations and concrete median islands.
The finished crossings will look similar to NE 82nd Avenue and NE Russell Street, pictured below. 
This image shows a rectangular rapid flashing beacon on 82nd Avenue.
This crossing at NE 82nd Avenue and Russell Street has a high visibility crosswalk, a concrete median island, and a RRFB with flashing lights above the crosswalk and on the right side of the crossing.

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Project timeline

Expecting to go out to bid in winter 2023 and construction will begin summer 2023. Construction is expected to last approximately 18 months.

Project funding

$1,700,000 from Fixing Our Streets

Public involvement 

PBOT faces a tight timeline to deliver critical fixes on 82nd Avenue. 

To meet construction deadlines, PBOT will rely on insights from the extensive community engagement the bureau and other agencies conducted over the past 10 years, including:  

Through the ODOT-led planning process (2018), PBOT identified priority enhanced crossing locations on 82nd Avenue. These were vetted with the community through the planning process and included in the ODOT 82nd Avenue of Roses Implementation Plan. The crossing location recommendations included Ash and Beech intersections.

The City conducted interviews with property owners, business owners, and community members, as well as market research to better understand barriers to redevelopment.

 Learn more about opportunities for public engagement


About Building a Better 82nd  

Ownership of 82nd Avenue transferred from the state to the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) in 2022. A critical north-south connection and one of Portland’s high-crash corridors, 82nd Avenue is in urgent need of significant investments to improve safety and address maintenance issues. 

Critical Fixes Now 

PBOT is investing in 82nd Avenue to deliver critical fixes. These urgent safety and maintenance repairs to the corridor include repaving and ADA corner ramps, pedestrian crossings, street lighting, safety improvements, tree planting, and sidewalk improvements. Critical Fixes projects will be in construction between 2023 and 2026.    

Future Investments Next 

While completing the most critical repairs, PBOT will identify and prioritize future investments for a better 82nd Avenue. Over the next two years, PBOT will conduct broad and inclusive community engagement and work directly with community-based organizations and agency partners to determine what the bureau should focus on for improving 82nd Avenue long-term. 

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