Project Description

This project is on OR Route 140 and will widen the roadway to allow for twelve foot travel lanes and six foot shoulders. It will also include realignment of the roadway where necessary to reduce the sharpness of some curves as well as installing protective measures to help keep vehicles from leaving the roadway and entering the lake.

OR Route 140 is a state highway that traverses the southern portion of the state of Oregon. This project takes place on a segment of road that runs between the cities of Klamath Falls and Medford with a current Seasonal Average Daily Traffic (SADT) of 2700 vehicles, and 28% truck traffic. The highway is a designated Freight Route between Medford and Lakeview and is located approximately five miles west of the city of Klamath Falls. It is also designated as a part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway which runs, in part, through this project.

The route provides access to the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Rogue Siskiyou National Forest,  Bureau of Land Management, Klamath Lake and various recreational facilities. OR Route 140 also provides access to public and private timber lands, residential property, and can be used as an alternate route to Crater Lake National Park. For one portion of the project corridor, the roadway runs adjacent to Klamath Lake.

Scope of Work

This project is to widen a 1.8 mile stretch of roadway along OR 140 to accommodate current and future traffic and provide opportunities for bicycle use.

The 1.8 mile project from milepost (MP) 57 to MP 59, are adjacent to the lake. The roadway will be widened to twelve foot travel lanes with six foot shoulders and will be realigned where necessary. New embankments within Klamath Lake will be constructed to allow for widening, along with construction and/or armor of the embankments with stone or riprap to help prevent wave erosion of the roadway.  The plans also provide for fish enhancement features in the stone embankment fills, which enter the exiting waterway.