BEND, Ore. — Trucks used for hauling freight are increasingly moving up and down U.S. Highway 97, according to average daily volumes monitored by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
The increase is likely due to an improving economy and a growing population east of the Cascade Mountains. Trucking companies might also be choosing to use Highway 97 instead of Interstate 5 as ODOT projects on the highway continue to address traffic congestion.
ODOT monitors average daily volumes for all vehicles. The number of single-unit trucks with two axles and up to multiple trailers with seven axles increased between 2011 and 2014 heading northbound and southbound on Highway 97. Southbound near Klamath Falls saw the largest increase, with 40 percent more use during the three-year timespan. A daily average of 1,505 trucks drove northbound through Bend on the highway during 2014.
The number of trucks on I-5 has also increased in areas since 2011. The largest spike was northbound near the border with California.
Those involved in the trucking industry have differing opinions about what might be driving the increased traffic along Highway 97, which stretches from Weed, Calif., to the Canadian border.
Cale Pearson, president of the Central Oregon Truck Company based in Redmond, said as the population increases so does the truck volume to accommodate more consumers.
“The population base along the east side of the Cascades has been growing, so the demand for more goods accompanies the population increase,” Pearson wrote in an email.
Although the company is based in Central Oregon, Pearson said that when drivers with his company go from California to Washington or vice versa they still use I-5 because it is a few miles shorter than Highway 97 and has more services.
Some truck companies use state Highway 58 and Highway 97 to bypass a steeper grade on I-5 and save fuel when crossing the California and Oregon border. But some truck drivers might be using Highway 97 instead of I-5 through Central Oregon and up into Washington.
Ron Klinski, the Bend terminal manager for Oak Harbor Freight Lines based in Auburn, Washington, said Highway 97 is more suitable in some cases with options to go east and west along the way.
“It is desirable to come through here now,” said Klinski. “I think it’s a little nicer than I-5. The truck traffic has definitely picked up.”
Klinski said he believes it’s a combination of factors, including an improved economy. Oak Harbor hauls a fair amount of building supplies to the area for housing and commercial development, he said.
Bob Russell, vice president of government affairs for Oregon Trucking Associations, said he doesn’t believe truck companies are being enticed to use Highway 97 instead of I-5.
“We go where the freight takes us, so it’s all a matter of economic activity,” Russell said.
Russell also said that truck traffic is often dictated by construction projects. Drivers might want to avoid congestion and go a different route instead of their first choice.
ODOT has overseen a series of construction projects on Highway 97 to deal with overall traffic, including removing stoplights.
The Murphy Road project in Bend has eliminated a stoplight at the highway intersection with Third Street and will include removing the stoplight at Pinebrook Boulevard.
“Our goal is to have the smoothest, safest traffic as we can,” said Peter Murphy, a spokesman for ODOT. “Removing stoplights is helping with that.
“We are responding to a need from the trucking industry to lose stoplights when and where we can.”
The interchange between Highway 97 and Interstate 84 near the Columbia River at Biggs Junction is another project that ODOT has tackled to alleviate a clog for truck drivers. The project is wrapping up and included widening the highway and bridges from two to five lanes near the interchange with I-84.
Murphy said the interchange between the interstate and highway represented a safety hazard and that the changes will enhance maneuverability for drivers.
