On four nights starting Sept. 5, OR 217 will see directional closures at SW Hall Boulevard in Beaverton. (ODOT photo)

Work on OR 217 is expected to ramp up the week after Labor Day at Hall Boulevard in Beaverton and at Greenburg Road in Tigard as crews continue work on the highway improvement project.

The directional closures mark important new steps in the OR 217 Auxiliary Lanes Project, which will improve safety and reduce bottlenecks between Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and OR 99W.

Crews began work on Sept. 5 at Southwest Hall Boulevard in Beaverton. The closures will allow crews to set horizontal concrete box beams that will be part of the widened Hall Boulevard overpass over 217. The wider overpass will make way for sidewalks and bike lanes.

The project will construct auxiliary lanes in both directions of OR 217 between Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and OR 99W. Auxiliary lanes are ramp-to-ramp connections that help reduce congestion by giving drivers more space and time to merge safely into the highway mainline. This decreases conflicts, improves safety and the flow of traffic and ultimately allows the existing lanes to work more efficiently.

After the project is finished in late 2025, Oregon Department of Transportation is expected to save up to 73,000 hours of travel time a year with these improvements.

ODOT isn't just making improvements to the highway. The project also will make the area surrounding OR 217 safer. In partnership with the city of Beaverton and Washington County, it is making targeted improvements to local bicycle and pedestrian routes.

The agency is extending the Fanno Creek Trail, widening the north sidewalk on the Denney Road overpass and building sidewalks and bicycle lanes in both directions of Hall Boulevard from Cascade Avenue to Scholls Ferry Road. It also is completing the north/south bicycle and pedestrian network.

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