Pearl Street lane closures begin for new sidewalk by Eugene federal building

Pearl Street’s eastbound lane is now intermittently closed beside the Eugene Federal Building as Eugene crews build a permanent sidewalk between 6th and 7th avenues. The project, which began June 9, replaces a temporary pedestrian path installed in April after the federal government wrapped the building in a security fence.

The city is spending $50,000 in local road funds on the sidewalk, which is meant to keep people moving past a block that has become a choke point for foot traffic between downtown Eugene, the riverfront and the market district. The eastbound lane is expected to remain intermittently closed through June 23, so drivers should expect brief slowdowns when the lane drops out near the federal building.

City officials say the new sidewalk is needed because part of the existing Pearl Street sidewalk next to the building sits on federal property, leaving the city without authority to stop the fence project there. A temporary walkway was set up in a nearby parking strip after the fence went up in April, and the new construction is intended to turn that stopgap into a permanent route.

The city also approved a right-of-way use permit for temporary lane closures on Pearl Street and Seventh Avenue during the fence installation. In its public FAQ, the city said the work required a traffic control plan, proof of a licensed Oregon contractor and liability insurance. For pedestrians, the most direct path through the block will remain the new continuous walkway along the Pearl Street frontage.

The sidewalk work comes as the fence itself remains at the center of a federal legal fight. Six Eugene activists filed suit June 4 against the U.S. General Services Administration, saying the fence violates their First Amendment rights, the Administrative Procedure Act and creates barriers for elderly and disabled protesters. The suit, filed by attorneys Marianne Dugan and Lauren Regan of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, seeks to have the fence removed or access restored to the upper portion of Free Speech Plaza.

Federal officials have said the fence is needed to protect the building and its employees while repairs are completed after protest-related damage earlier this year. They say a designated protest area remains available on the lower portion of the plaza, while the fence is expected to stay in place for about two years. The city’s sidewalk project is designed to outlast the temporary route and keep Pearl Street open as the block changes around it.