BEAVERTON, Ore. — The city of Beaverton got a $2 million federal grant to help with plans to enhance the city's downtown roads and sidewalks.
The Beaverton Downtown Loop Project will focus on improving safety along Hall Boulevard and Watson Avenue from the new Patricia Reser Center to the Beaverton Library.
“This project is going to be generational changing for our city," said Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty. "Beaverton has done all this work bringing in restaurants and people to our core. Now we're going to invest in the road to make sure the sidewalks are wide, that it's well lit, that bikers have protected bike lanes so their experience is prioritized."
Mayor Beaty said the next two years will be mostly planning. The entire project could take five to 10 years to complete and cost $20-30 million dollars in total. The $2 million grant will go toward that cost.
"Through that loop, it has two state highways, it has a MAX line on top of all the major transportation happening around it," said Beaty.
She said the project will bring in "tons of jobs," adding "we're really going to reimagine what downtown looks like."
There were only three planning grants awarded by the federal government to the state, all funded by the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE. Landing the grant was a big deal for the city of Beaverton, Beaty said.
Federal money was also awarded to the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project and the McGilchrist Complete Streets Project in Salem.
Back in Beaverton, people at the Beaverton Night Market said they liked the idea of making it easier to walk around the city.
“It's nice to be able to explore the city more on foot. It will be safer here," one visitor said.