The City of Redmond will host a Chamber Coffee Clatter and Ribbon Cutting Friday, October 11 from 8:30-9:30 am at Redmond City Hall to celebrate the completion of the Sixth Street construction project.The official ribbon cutting ceremony will take place approximately 9:15 am at the intersection of Deschutes & Sixth Street. Public is welcome to attend.
The final phase of the Sixth Street construction project began November 2012 and focused on the reconstruction of Sixth Street from SW Deschutes to NW Jackpine.
Deschutes to Antler was paved with concrete to match the Deschutes to Glacier section with colored and textured crosswalks and colored parking lanes. From Antler to Jackpine, the street section was paved with asphalt similar to Fifth Street.
The construction also included the installation of new sidewalks, curb extensions and ramps at intersections to provide safer crosswalks, and other improvements such as decorative light poles, flower baskets, and banners over the full length of the project.The completion of this project heralds the conclusion of over thirty years of project planning and development.
In 1982, Redmond leaders identified the need to reroute the Heavy Truck Traffic on US 97 from the downtown for business vitality and a pedestrian city center.
In 1995, the funding mechanism for this project was established through the Downtown Urban Renewal District. And in 2003, the City of Redmond started to work with the Oregon Department of Transportation on the design of a US 97 Reroute to reclaim Fifth and Sixth Streets as Redmond’s downtown.
“We are proud to have fulfilled a commitment we made over ten years ago when the City first began the Highway 97 reroute project,” states City of Redmond Mayor, George Endicott.
“The promise was to rebuild downtown Redmond’s streets for pedestrian and business vitality when the trucks were out, and we have done that.”Now with the street improvement projects finished, the City of Redmond can focus on the next chapter of its downtown revitalization efforts.
“With our recent public improvement projects we have set the table for downtown revitalization in Redmond, and now we are excited to focus on business and private development opportunities,” Heather Richards, City of Redmond’s Community Development Director explains.
“We have many different loan and grant programs available to businesses and developers to help with their projects, including façade improvement grants and property rehabilitation low-interest loans for existing properties as well as low-interest development loans and grants for new construction.”
Heather Richards, Community Development Director at 541-923-7756.
