WRAPPED UP: City of Bend’s 2025 Street Preservation Program complete
KTVZ
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The City of Bend has completed its 2025 Street Preservation Program after improving 67 lane miles of the city’s roughly 930 lane miles of roadway. The projects, costing about $4.85 million, focused on using the right treatment at the right time to maximize cost-effective maintenance.
This year’s street preservation work included several key treatments:
Paving: Crews ground out old asphalt and replaced it on existing roadways.
Slurry seal: Applied as a treatment for low-volume residential streets.
Chip seal: Used an asphalt emulsion and rock coating to extend pavement life.
“This work helps extend the life of our roads that are vital to our community,” said Streets & Operations Project Manager Paul Neiswonger.
As the seasons change, the City’s Transportation & Mobility Department is preparing for winter operations and asking residents to do their part to get ready as well. Information about how to prepare for winter driving and what to expect during storms is available at bendoregon.gov/winter.
The City’s winter resources are set for average conditions, but extreme storms can still pose challenges. Each shift includes 18 snowplow operators and 32 pieces of equipment—ranging from light-duty pickups to medium-duty dump trucks and heavy-duty motor graders equipped with plows.
When snow and ice occur, city crews prioritize plowing and sanding the highest-use streets that serve the most drivers, employment areas, schools, and transit routes. Details can be found on the City’s winter street priority map at bendoregon.gov/snow.
“Priority One” routes include main arterials vital for emergency access, Columbia Basin Hospital, bus routes, employment centers, schools, and government facilities. “Priority Two” routes are main collector streets that connect to arterials and include business centers, medical facilities, safe routes to school, and neighborhood connections.
Residential streets are cleared last and may involve contracted crews for support. With Bend’s total of 165 lane miles of arterials, 82 of collectors, and 687 of residential streets, plows and sanding crews must follow this tiered system to maintain efficiency and safety across the city’s network.