ONTARIO – A roundabout officials say will enhance safety at Cairo Junction recently opened for traffic.
The roundabout replaced the former T intersection at Cairo Junction where Oregon Highway 201 and U.S. Highway 20 meet south of Ontario. The new traffic control structure is part of $16 million in work being done on U.S. Highway 20 in Malheur and Harney counties. Marcum & Sons of Redmond is the contractor for the project.
Roundabouts are designed as circular intersections with curved entrances that reduce vehicle speed with no traffic signals.
The state Transportation Department began to plan the new roundabout in 2019.
According to officials, the roundabout will upgrade safety in several ways. The roundabout will slow traffic and move it in the same direction. That, in turn, will help reduce the number of crashes and improve traffic flow.
As a result, the Transportation Department expects an 80% reduction in serious crashes in the Cairo Junction area.
While the roundabout is open, the contractors are still working on minor elements of the project.
“The project isn’t technically considered complete until all the work is finished, which includes landscaping, striping, signage, etc.,” said Vicki Moles, a spokesperson for the Transportation Department.
Moles said contractors will continue to fine tune the roundabout into the fall.
The roundabout project was prompted by a series of serious crashes in the Cairo Junction area between 2009 and 2018. Over that nine-year period, 31 crashes were recorded, including 15 injury wrecks and one death.
The near-completion of the project generated a host of feedback from area residents on the Enterprise’s Facebook page.
More than 300 people commented on the new roundabout.
One of those commentators was Nyssa resident Roberto Escobedo. Escobedo, who is a Nyssa city councilor, said he doesn’t have a problem with the roundabout but believes some others are still getting used to it.
“I think it needs to be more warning that there is a roundabout coming up,” he said.
Escobedo said he noticed people “stop and they don’t know what to do.”
He said he is also concerned about trucks moving through the roundabout during harvest time.
Vale resident Cathy Zacharias said she believes the roundabout will boost road safety.
“Personally, I think it was a great thing they did,” said Zacharias.
Zacharias said there were several meetings several years ago hosted by the Transportation Department regarding the roundabout. Those meetings, she said, would have been an ideal time for local residents to voice concerns.
“If you are going to complain about it you need to show up and change their minds. If people wanted it bigger they needed to show up and say, hey, we want this to be bigger,” said Zacharias.
She said those who have misgivings now should reach out to the Transportation Department.
“Instead of complaining on your Facebook page, call the people who can make a difference,” she said.
There were, and continue to be, varied opinions on the Enterprise Facebook page about the roundabout.
One commentator mentioned the area around the roundabout at night is too dark, hampering navigation.
Another commentator wrote that the roundabout will be dangerous in the winter.
A third person posted concerns about trucks encountering trouble at the site and labeled the roundabout a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“So many hundreds of miles of unpaved roads in Malheur County that would have benefited from the infusion of tax dollars and instead the state chose to waste the money on frivolous and unneeded ‘upgrades’ that only create problems that did not previously exist,” wrote one commentator.
Paul Woodruff, manager of the Transportation Department’s District 14, which includes Harney, Grant and Malheur counties, said so far, the roundabout is working well.
“I do think it will get better as the construction gets fully finished,” he said.
Woodruff said once the striping and new signage is installed, drivers will have an even easier time navigating the roundabout.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
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