Construction aimed at improving Delta Highway safety and easing congestion begins soon

47

u/justinh2 2d ago

I'm sure it will help as much as the last set of improvements!

14

u/duck7001 2d ago

I get that you are being sarcastic, but the last improvement did help.

Delta northbound would regularly get backed up as people were forced to do a short merge in or out of Delta. It would cause a ton of accidents and fender benders. That bottleneck is much improved now.

There are like 4 bottlenecks that lead to the congestion on Delta/Beltline interchange, so they are working on the next one after resolving the first.

16

u/catchmygrift 2d ago

Nah, they royally fucked that interchange up. There was less congestion there when it was under construction than when they actually rolled it out.

Two lanes dangerously and suddenly “merge” into one around a corner, and it’s not helped by drivers being bad at merging, but the design is all around POOR PLANNING.

-10

u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 1d ago

City manager should be fired for these issues, same as most of her unelected overpaid staff. These people make 6 figures just to run the bill up and reduce livability.

7

u/duck7001 1d ago

You need a hobby

5

u/AnotherQueer 1d ago

The city manager isn't responsible for ODOT.

-5

u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 1d ago

She works with them in a position of high authority. A responsible person fit for the job would absolutely negotiate with ODOT to actually create meaningful improvements in safety and efficiency.

5

u/SandyOwl 1d ago

What does the City Manager have to do with ODOT projects?

-5

u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 1d ago

Not sure why you keep commenting in bad faith on my posts. It's unappreciated and against the sub rules.

12

u/justinh2 2d ago

Idk, buddy. My wife and I both regularly commute though Delta/Beltline and IMHO it has been made worse. The oy benefit has been the dedicated off-ramp for NB Delta onto WB and EB Beltline, but even WB is a huge clusterfuck still.

8

u/MaraudersWereFramed 2d ago

Too many lanes merging in in too short of a distance i honestly don't know how they make it much better.

3

u/duck7001 1d ago

I also drive that route everyday and have for nearly 15 years. Imo, it cleared up a few major issues on Delta that would happen regularly prior to the construction:

EB Beltline traffic exiting to NB on Delta. Forced people to enter cars going 50+ MPH with zero merge lane. Lots of accidents here due to this.

NB Delta to WB Beltline. Beltline traffic would back up and cause people entering WB Beltline to back up into the NB Delta lanes and cause traffic for people who were just trying to get to Delta Oaks area.

Also, this was the first phase of an entire redesign of that interchange, so of course it did not solve all the Beltline issues... the only way to alleviate those are to build a new, wider, bridge over the Willamette ($$$$$$).

1

u/justinh2 1d ago

Fair.

I think 569 needed a lot more foresight before shoveling.

2

u/Univited_Arbiter 1d ago

I use the Division or River road exit daily, it’s really not that bad.

1

u/justinh2 1d ago

That's a great option but doesn't properly go WB.

-4

u/squatting-Dogg 2d ago

The second the environmentalists shot down the flyover ramp option we are left with misery rather than solving this problem once and for all.

3

u/smolt_funnel 1d ago

What a joke! Goodpasture going onto Delta is such a clusterfuck, just to have most of the cars merge into the center lane, then take the Beltline exit. I hope they fix it.

-4

u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 1d ago

City Management would jump off a bridge before they ask regular daily commuters what would help instead of paying worthless consultants millions to think up a terrible idea.

32

u/dbatchison Fun Police 2d ago

I think the real problem is the bridge over the willamette. Coming from delta toward the airport it’s a short merge onto a narrow old bridge which causes the most congestion

11

u/Omg_Itz_Winke 2d ago

People don't know/understand zipper merging/won't let others in. That area is terrible

6

u/evil_mike 2d ago

Yep. Need another lane in each direction (extend River Road to the Delta exit in one direction and the on ramp onto Beltline to Division exit in the other). It’ll never happen though. Alternatively, it’d be nice if they added another bridge across the river, but again, never happen. They tried years ago and it was shot down.

3

u/Moojoo0 2d ago

I swear I saw not that long ago that they got funding to start the surveys for a bridge connecting Green Acres and Division. Can't find anything now though, dangit.

3

u/squishysquidface 2d ago

They did some initial outreach a few years ago claiming it is planned in the next 20 years.

2

u/SeaAbbreviations2706 2d ago

I think there is a plan, and it is hugely expensive so who knows when it wulll happen.

2

u/duck7001 2d ago

Its part of ODOTs master plan

3

u/CatPhysicist 2d ago

My uneducated take is that if they closed the Division Ave exit, it would likely ease up a lot of the traffic on Beltline but also push a lot of that traffic to River road and piss off a whole lotta people

1

u/pfshfine 1d ago

A big part of it is people wanting to exit westbound beltline onto division. Too many people cut across all the way from the left lane at the last second to get to the division exit. People in the right lane have to hit the brakes to avoid a collision, and it slows down the right lane, in the exact area where there's two busy on ramps. Total clusterfuck.

11

u/goaway_im_batin 2d ago

I don't understand how an additional lane on SBDelta will help with congestion, when all the congestion in the area is WB Beltline. Save the 16mil, and get a local traffic bridge connecting Green Acres to Hunsaker.

9

u/ChrisInBliss 2d ago

I dont understand how this will help.

3

u/El_Bistro 2d ago

The whole thing needs to be torn down

4

u/Tired_Thumb 1d ago

Yeah! Make it all trees and bike lanes. Fuck cars. I want trolleys, high speed rail, bike lanes, and water ways. I want fresh bread and free healthcare. I want to be a homeowner. And I want to see a world with our ass holes.

1

u/El_Bistro 1d ago

see a world with our ass holes

1

u/Tired_Thumb 1d ago

It’s truly our third eye

3

u/Univited_Arbiter 1d ago

Hot take 1: Eugene doesn’t have real traffic.

Hot take 2: Any improvement is better than people’s complaints about others doing something about it.

Gladly accepting all judgment, have a good night.

4

u/Opposite-Swim6040 2d ago

They need to close both ramps on the west side of the bridge, those things are accident magnets

1

u/dogma202 2d ago

Merge like a zipper! There are a combination of issues that need solving. I don’t have all of the answers but people do still need to learn how to merge. Also remember one construction crew member died during this last round.

3

u/MaraudersWereFramed 2d ago

The problem with merging like a zipper is the person merging has to put compete faith in the drivers on the freeway to not drive like assholes. Because if they do then your choice is hit them or hit the barricade and then probably still hit them anyways.

1

u/WaterComfortable1944 1d ago

Or... spend that money on BRT and actually have an alternative to being the congestion.

1

u/Captn_Insanso 2d ago

Should have done this ten years ago. Beltline and the delta exit/entry are a nightmare. They need more lanes but I don’t see how they would be able to do that.

13

u/Pertutri 2d ago

One more lane will fix it...! 😂

1

u/railfan71 2d ago

Adding two lanes on either side would barely make it flow normal.

3

u/BlackFoxSees 1d ago

for a few years, then back to congestion

1

u/railfan71 20h ago

Egg..zactly

2

u/Loves_tacos 2d ago

Because ODOT would rather focus the money on Portland. They know how to fix beltline and they know how much it will cost, but ODOT won't allocate nearly enough resources to do it. So they have to try very minor fixes.

1

u/mmmohreally 2d ago

Beltline is a tricky stretch of road. Multiple ownership.

1

u/kokenfan 1d ago

Thirty years ago, before the apartments were built south of Beltline.

ODOT really needs to fix the elevation changes and straighten the roadways. Both contribute to drivers slowing unnecessarily. The hard right turn with a traffic signal & crosswalk from Beltline East to Delta South is insane. Bridge from Green Acres to Division. Extend Delta Hwy and bridge across to River Loop 1/2.

-5

u/Lionel_Pritchard 2d ago

16.1 million dollars flushed down the drain. This money should go towards adding lanes to belt line, not adding lanes to off ramps that won’t ease traffic.

3

u/MaraudersWereFramed 2d ago

Or do what I've seen on the east coast. Add one lane that flows different directions depending on which way rush hour traffic is going. Just a middle lane controlled by gates.

1

u/Lionel_Pritchard 1d ago

Yeah, that would be a step in the right direction.

1

u/EUGsk8rBoi42p 1d ago

Jfc! No wonder the local government can't find money for things that matter!!!

-11

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

13

u/darkchocoIate 2d ago

Seattle and Minneapolis both have on ramp lights. It’s to ease congestion.

8

u/dbatchison Fun Police 2d ago

And Los Angeles, and DC, and Atlanta, and San Francisco, and …

5

u/darkchocoIate 2d ago

Careful, we aren’t fueling the outrage when we acknowledge things exist elsewhere.

3

u/mmmohreally 2d ago

You must not get out much.

Construction aimed at improving Delta Highway safety and easing congestion begins soon News