State and 9th street changes to four-way stop

The City of Hood River will install four-way stop signs Friday at the intersection in hopes of lowering the accident rate. Mark Lago, director of the public works/engineering department, said that work has been timed to mesh with the lifting of a barrier that has closed the lower end of Ninth Street for several weeks. He said the city project will mesh with the end of the Oregon Department of Transportation construction along Cascade Avenue, also known as Highway 30.

He hopes that simultaneous move will make it easier for drivers to adjust to the change in their travel routine. “People need to be aware there is going to be a stop now so they can’t just continue going east,” said Lago.

He said there have historically been a lot of fender-benders at the intersection, primarily from drivers sitting on State Street watching traffic coming downhill — and forgetting that vehicles are also traveling up the hill.