PBOT begins construction on project to improve safety on 82nd Avenue.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- After months of planning, Portland transportation officials officially launched a maintenance project that could transform one of the city’s most dangerous corridors into a safe area for drivers and pedestrians by 2027.

Construction on PBOT's Building a Better 82nd program began Thursday morning with Oregon State Rep. Khanh Pham, City Commissioner Mingus Mapps and other community partners joining PBOT on-site to officially commemorate the start of the project.

Overall, the project will prioritize the 2.5-mile stretch from Northeast 82nd Avenue from Fremont Street to Schuyler Street, and Southeast 82nd Avenue from Mill Street to Foster Road. This stretch includes some of the major community destinations including McDaniel High School and the Jade District.

Between 2012 and 2021, PBOT reported that 14 people died and 122 were left critically injured following crashes on 82nd Avenue south of Lombard Street. The agency estimates that at least four more fatal crashes happened in the area between 2022 and 2023.

According to PBOT, the majority of the victims were pedestrians, cyclists, or people in cars making left turns in an area with no traffic signals.

"The last thing is whenever you do major public investments, you have the potential of pushing people out who have lived here for decades and decades and decades," said Zachary Lauritzen, Executive Director of Oregon Walks. "And we are asking for our leaders and our partners to invest in 82nd, in housing, in trees, in peoples in workforce."

The improvements planned by the project include updating or replacing 140 ADA-accessible curb ramps, new traffic signals and street markings, as well as replaced pavement. Median islands and separators will also be installed in areas with a high crash history.

PBOT also plans to plant about 175 trees along the corridor to “mitigate the impact of extreme heat events.”

"This was a commitment to a vision of a better future," said JJ Kunsevi, a McDaniel High School student. "So today, as we are here together, we can probably say we now live in that better 82nd."