Wildish Construction will construct a shared-use path on the south side of Franklin Boulevard between Walnut Street and Judkins Point, Friday, Sept. 27. City of Eugene staff worked with Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to develop a design that will improve the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists as well as improve the quality of their experience on this popular transportation corridor.
Currently at this location, a narrow, two-directional, five-foot-wide sidewalk handles a heavy volume of bicycle and pedestrian use. This sidewalk is the primary pedestrian and biking facility in and out of the Laurel Hill Valley neighborhood and serves the University of Oregon campus and the Lane Transit District’s Walnut EmX Station. The new sidewalk will be constructed to a 12-foot width with a five-foot planting strip from Walnut Street to the east end of the project. An improved drainage system will be included in the new design to keep rainwater from flowing across the sidewalk and freezing in winter. The City of Eugene is providing the landscape plans, and although some trees will be removed, numerous trees will be planted. The low-bid contract of $252, 664 was provided through ODOT’S Bicycle and Pedestrian Program and awarded to Wildish Construction, Inc. Completion is expected by the end of December.
During construction, there will be one eastbound lane open to vehicle traffic and a four-foot-wide temporary
bike/pedestrian path sharing the roadway. The bike/pedestrian path will be delineated by pedestrian channelization devices and tubular markers. During the weekends, there will be two lanes of eastbound traffic open to vehicle traffic with a four-foot-wide temporary bike/pedestrian adjacent to traffic. Westbound traffic will not be affected.
Visit the ODOT project web site for more information, or contact Eugene Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Lee Shoemaker at lee.shoemaker@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-682-5471.