Next phase of East Broadway paving, sidewalk project to begin in spring

The city of Eugene will soon close one of three eastbound lanes along a two-block stretch of East Broadway, the final phase of a project to make the corridor between downtown and campus more pedestrian-friendly.

In late April or May, city officials will remove the southernmost eastbound lane on East Broadway from Mill Street to Patterson Street, and then widen the sidewalk from 5 to 8 feet, project manager Bryan Root told Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

A planting strip for street trees, about 6 feet wide, will separate the new sidewalk from traffic.

The lane removal will also make space for new commercial parking on Broadway, which is lined with new student apartment buildings.

Marion Suitor Barnes, public affairs manager for the city’s Public Works Department, said the project is intended to create a “gateway” into the Broadway and Franklin corridor, a connection point between downtown Eugene and the University of Oregon campus.

Phase one of the Broadway Paving and Sidewalks Project, which included closing one eastbound lane between Patterson and Alder streets to widen the sidewalk and plant trees, was planned for June through August but ended up beginning in August and wrapping up in October. 

The second phase, which extends the lane closure to the west, was originally planned to begin in August and finish in November; it will now begin in the spring.

“Faced with the challenges of working in the winter, we decided to pause while we also incorporated information learned in phase 1 into plans for phase 2,” Root said. “Plus, we knew that in removing the travel lane there will be a considerable amount of excavation that potentially would be challenging to manage if we were working in wet weather.”

In the second phase, the city will also repave East Broadway from Mill to Alder streets with 4 inches of asphalt. Officials will add a raised crosswalk across Patterson Street and solar-powered illuminated bollards at the Mill Street crosswalk, and replace the flashing crosswalk outside The 515 apartment building with a standard green-yellow-red traffic signal.

The city has said traffic studies show that two lanes are sufficient to accommodate traffic volumes on Broadway. The study was prepared for the city in 2023 by transportation planning firm DKS Associates.

The study recorded traffic volumes in February and April 2023 at five intersections in the project area between 7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. The study compared those findings with 2017 data and found traffic volumes were on average 10% lower in morning peak hours and 6% lower in evening peak hours.

The study also recorded that there were over 50 pedestrian crossings during the evening peak hour in the project area.

The majority of the work in phase 2 will happen at night to minimize daytime traffic impacts, Root said. During the lane removal portion of the project, there will be only one eastbound through-lane open from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Two lanes will be open during the day.

During the “roadway reconditioning” portion of the project, work will also occur at night, and a single lane will always be available in the eastbound and westbound directions, Root said.

Root said the city will ensure the construction firm hired for the project stops work and ensures the safety of the area during springtime and summer events, like track and field competitions, the Eugene Marathon and UO Commencement.

“Last year during phase 1, we navigated some of the same happenings such as college graduations and large track and field events,” Root said.

The project’s funding, projected to total $1.88 million, came primarily from Eugene’s street repair bond measure and the Riverfront Urban Renewal District.