About
OR 205 is an Oregon Designated Scenic Byway. It connects the communities of Hines and Burns to the communities of Diamond, Frenchglen, and Fields. The highway provides sole access to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge and Steens Mountain Wilderness Area. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) manage the majority of land adjoining OR 205. This area is critical to the local economy and many local jobs depend on access to these federal lands.
This project will serve the local communities, federal agencies, and the thousands of people who use OR 205 to access the recreation and economic sites listed above. Although critical to the local economy and federal land management agencies, the route is not a primary route for ODOT. Therefore, it has been difficult to keep up with maintenance needs. In recent years, preventative maintenance activities have occurred on the route including chip seals and thin lift overlays, but several sections of the roadway are deteriorating faster than ODOT can maintain. If appropriate repairs are not made the highway will continue to deteriorate until a costly reconstruction would be required to maintain access to the area.
Project elements include:
- Pave and chip seal road surface.
- Widen the road, from milepost 60.23 to 73.35.
Due to the proximity of this project to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, appropriate environmental reviews are being conducted. Impacts to water, wildlife and birds is minimal.
Location
OR 205
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Starts at the junction with OR 78, milepost 0.0, and ends at Smith Flat-Huffman Camp Road, milepost 73.35 (where OR 78 ends and Catlow Valley Road begins).
Cost and Funding
Construction is estimated to cost $6.5 million.
Contractor
High Desert Aggregate & Paving, Inc. | Terrebonne, OR