ForConstructionPros.com

While Oregon Mainline Paving's typical bread-and-butter work is tied to mill and fill projects, the McMinnville, OR-based contractor recently completed a $25-million four-mile bypass around the City of Redmond and the traffic-free work zone proved beneficial in meeting project smoothness specifications.

The total $90.4-million project, delivered in-house by Oregon Department of Transportation Region 4, included constructing an irrigation canal, building bridges, moving Redmond's main power substation, and realigning U.S. 97 to bypass the business district.

The bypass runs between the Central Oregon Irrigation District's Pilot Butte Canal and the BNSF Railroad on the east side of Redmond, from just north of Veteran's Way on the south end to just south of O'Neil Highway junction on the north end.

With an average daily traffic count of 35,000 vehicles (12 to 15 percent being trucks) on the Redmond portion of U.S. 97, the project increases the north/south highway capacity and reduces congestion and travel delays on the Fifth/Sixth interchange in downtown Redmond.

The new alignment will improve freight mobility and freight access to future industrial developments in Redmond, while minimizing the number of heavy trucks traveling through downtown.