Olney Avenue closure near downtown Bend likely extended through early 2026 due to soil issue
Claire Elmer
(Update: adding video, adding interview with city engineer, small business owner)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A portion of Olney Avenue near downtown Bend has been closed since the beginning of the year. The closure is a part of the city’s voter-approved projects on Portland Avenue, Wall Street, and Olney Avenue.
The project was originally slated to be completed this fall. But now, the completion date has been pushed back to early 2026. City officials say though they did their due diligence, a soil issue is causing the delay.
Ryan Oster, city engineer for the City of Bend, spoke with KTVZ on-site at the project on Tuesday.
“We do some geotechnical investigative work. In this case, despite doing that work, the ground condition turned out to be different,” he said. “Instead of getting the hard, rocky condition that we’re all used to, we actually encountered a lot of soft soil. The soil started collapsing onto the boring machine, and so we had to immediately stop.”
The City of Bend has been working with BNSF Railway for construction in the company’s easement. But after encountering soil issues under the train tracks, officials say they now have to wait for the railroad before they can proceed.
“We’re continuing to try to schedule with BNSF, and only they can do work within the right of way with their crews and contractors. So we’re doing everything we can with our contractors, but we have to coordinate the timing with them,” Oster said.
For small businesses in the area, the mere idea of extending the road closure is crushing.
Bryan Messmer, owner of ChillWell, spoke with KTVZ News about the impact the closure has had on his business so far.
“It’s been absolutely devastating,” Messmer said. “It’s been really rough. I mean, once you’re out of sight, out of mind. It’s extremely challenging for guests to find us.”
Today’s economy is already difficult for local businesses, before the added hurdle of limited exposure in a construction zone. While Messmer is understanding the work is necessary, he is hopeful the city will take charge in dealings with the rail company.
“I really appreciate the council. I really appreciate the efforts. I get that construction’s always a moving target,” Messmer said. “Hopefully they’ll hang in there with pushing it forward and getting it completed. But kicking it all the way to April 2026 is devastating to us, as a small business.”
The city says did say they will consider a temporary reopening if BNSF cannot get their contractors to the area soon.
While the extent of the delay and projection completion date is still unknown, officials, businesses, and residents alike are pushing for the reopening as soon as possible.