New Traffic Signal Marks Change at 8th and Mill
A new traffic signal marks a significant change at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Mill Street in the east downtown area. Eighth Avenue, which has been closed to through traffic by a median at Mill Street for many years, is now a full, multi-phased, signalized intersection.
Additionally, Eighth Avenue between Mill and High streets has been converted from a one-way street to two-way operation. And the southbound Ferry Street Bridge viaduct has been reconstructed to provide two through lanes onto Mill Street/Broadway plus a third lane dedicated to right turns only onto westbound Eighth Avenue.
The changes are designed to better connect the new federal courthouse district to the rest of downtown.
Over the past several months the City of Eugene and its contractor, Wildish Construction, have been hard at work building new street connections and repaving Franklin Boulevard/Broadway/ Mill Street from 11th Avenue to Sixth Avenue, including the on- and off-ramps at the south end of the Ferry Street Bridge viaduct.
Earlier this year the new Hilyard Street bypass route for westbound Highway 99 traffic was opened with improvements up to the intersection of Sixth Avenue and High Street. Those changes were designed to reduce traffic volumes at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Mill Street to accommodate the new signalized intersection and pedestrian crossing.
Other transportation improvements in the courthouse district have included reconstructing Eighth Avenue between Mill and Hilyard streets, reconstructing and extending Ferry Street from Broadway to the Hilyard extension, and building a multi-use path paralleling the Hilyard extension and connecting to the riverbank trail system at Eighth Avenue and a new crossing of Franklin at Alder.
For more information, check the project web site or the metro roadwork web site.
Getting Around Safely
