82nd Avenue Critical Fixes: Major Maintenance

Transportation
Engineering And Design
As part of this project, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) will make urgent safety and maintenance improvements to 2.5 miles of NE 82nd Avenue from Fremont Street to Schuyler Street and SE 82nd Avenue from Mill Street to Foster Road.
An artist's rendering on 82nd Avenue looking south toward SE Foster Road shows pedestrians walking and pushing strollers on a wide sidewalk, with a new tree-lined median island in the center lane.
Construction 2024-2026
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What's happening now?

April 1, 2024 Update

Thank you for your comments!
The public comment period on the 60% design for the 82nd Avenue Major Maintenance Project ended March 31

Thank you to the over 1,100 people who submitted comments online, and to the roughly 450 people who attended events and neighborhood association presentations in the past two months! We are reviewing your comments, and we will share design and project updates in the coming months, stay tuned!  

March 20, 2024 Update

Final call for comments! 
Public comment period ends March 31 

Thanks to everyone who joined us at our events at Marysville Elementary School and McDaniel High School this month! We had 125 participants, had great conversations and received lots of thoughtful comments. 

Two images show a crowd of people gathered around information boards and people standing over and pointing to areas of a large map on a table.
Attendees at a public comment event at Marysville Elementary School gather around project maps and speak with the project team.

January 2024 Update

PBOT released our 60% design concept for public review — the result of nine months of public engagement, safety and traffic analysis, and design progress.  

View the 60% Draft Concept Design


Project overview

Overview project map identifies the project improvement areas in a light orange color. This project includes improvements on NE 82nd Avenue from Fremont Street to Schuyler Street and SE 82nd Avenue from Mill Street to Foster Road.
Overview project map identifies the project improvement areas in a light orange color. This project includes improvements on NE 82nd Avenue from Fremont Street to Schuyler Street and SE 82nd Avenue from Mill Street to Foster Road.

As part of the Critical Fixes: Major Maintenance Project, PBOT will improve 2.5-miles of NE/SE 82nd Avenue (two segments). This project is entering the design phase and will be in construction from 2024 through 2026. 

The project areas were selected based on: 

  • Safety needs 
  • Pavement maintenance needs 
  • Serving equity 
  • Serving Centers (e.g., Jade, Lents) and other major destinations (e.g., Eastport Shopping Center, McDaniel High School) 

In addition, PBOT selected these areas because the designed improvements can be constructed largely within the existing public right-of-way. 

Critical Fixes: Major Maintenance Project improvements will:  

  • Provide safe and comfortable places for people to cross 82nd Avenue by installing pedestrian signals, bike signals at neighborhood greenways, and median islands 
  • Reduce the risk of serious injuries and fatalities for all people traveling by installing median islands in areas with a high crash history 
  • Mitigate the impact of extreme heat events by planting trees where possible 
  • Improve accessibility by installing ADA curb ramps for people using mobility devices, wheelchairs, and strollers 
  • Address maintenance needs through repaving, signal reconstruction, and updated street markings 

Pedestrians cross a four-lane street with landscaped, tree-lined median islands in the center lane. Drivers wait at a red light while pedestrians cross.
As part of the Major Maintenance Project, PBOT will install two signalized pedestrian crossings with median islands along 82nd Avenue, similar to this example rendering, which is based on a 60% design concept. 82nd Avenue at SE Lafayette and 82nd Avenue at SE Raymond will look similar to the above example. Within the intersections, medians will feature a red stamped brick pattern. Trees are set back from the intersection to maintain visibility and allow for emergency vehicle movements.

Reducing fatal and serious injury crashes  

Pedestrian crossings and median islands 

In the most recent 10-year period of available crash data (2012-2021), there have been 14 traffic deaths and 122 people seriously injured in crashes on 82nd Avenue south of Lombard Street within the city of Portland. Preliminary estimates for 2022 – 2023 include 4 additional traffic deaths occurring on 82nd Avenue.

In that 10-year period, more than 90% of traffic deaths were pedestrians or bicyclists, or people in cars turning left at locations without signals. Two-thirds of all serious injuries were pedestrians or bicyclists, or people in cars turning left or crossing at locations without signals.

That’s why PBOT will build safe pedestrian crossings and median islands, two of the most effective measures to reduce or eliminate pedestrian and turning vehicle crashes. 

PBOT will also plant trees in medians where possible, increasing the urban tree canopy along 82nd Avenue. In addition to contributing to a sense of community and livability, increasing the urban tree canopy is one critical way we can mitigate temperatures during extreme heat events. 

Installing safe pedestrian crossings and median islands will result in adjustments to how people delivering goods and visiting businesses access driveways and local streets. We recognize this may create inconvenience for some businesses, but this inconvenience means improved safety for everyone. 


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Planning documents

60% Draft Concept Design (released January 2024)

30% Draft Concept Design (released March 2023)

Project timeline

Construction will begin as soon as summer 2024. Construction is expected to last through the end of 2026.

Graphical timeline of the major maintenance project

Project funding

$55M from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

Public involvement 

Upcoming public involvement

 See all of the upcoming Building a Better 82nd events

Past public involvement

Read our 2023 Public Involvement Summary: 

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 is being transferred from the state to the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). 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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