[Transportation] EDCO - Economic Development For Central Oregon

Commercial service at Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM) is provided by Horizon Air, Delta, United, and Allegiant Air. These carriers offer approximately 44 arriving and departing flights daily to and from San Francisco (SFO), Portland (PDX), Eugene (EUG), Seattle (SEA), Los Angeles (LAX), Salt Lake City (SLC), Las Vegas (LAS) and, on a seasonal basis, Denver (DEN). The airport’s website can be accessed at www.flyrdm.com to view schedules and carriers.

RDM is the Northwest’s 14^th largest commercial airport and has been growing at an annual rate of greater than 10%, recently surpassing airports in the Tri-Cities, WA in boardings. In late 2006, Redmond completed a significant parking expansion and in 2008 embarked on a two-year $38 million construction project that will quadruple the size of the terminal. RDM also services air cargo and general aviation traffic, including extensive corporate and business travel.

Additional general aviation airports in Central Oregon are Bend, Madras/Jefferson County, Prineville/Crook County, Sisters, and Sunriver. Prineville’s publicly-owned airport is 3 miles SW of the city and has over 100 aircraft based at the field. Its 5000’ runway accommodates light aircraft and corporate jets.

Facilities at the Bend Municipal Airport include a single 5200’ runway, and a corresponding full parallel taxiway. Categorized by the Oregon Department of Aviation as a High Activity Business and General Aviation airport, the Bend Airport has over 200 aircraft based at the airport. Additionally, more than eighteen aviation-related businesses are located on the airport employing more than 1000 people, making the airport one of the largest concentrations of family-wage jobs in the Bend area.

Owned by the City of Madras and Jefferson County, the Madras Airport is 3 miles NW of the city, has two runways (5100’ and 2700’). In addition to a new flight services building, the Madras Airport appears likely to receive $2.16 million in Connect Oregon II funding to construct a large new hangar to house a new heavy aircraft repair facility for Redmond-based Butler Aircraft.

Sisters airport is located 1 mile north of the city, is privately owned but open to the public, and has one runway nearly 3600’ in length. Sunriver also boasts an airport which is privately owned; its one runway is nearly 5500’ in length.

Central Oregon is served by Airborne Express, Federal Express, RPS, United Parcel Service, and US Postal Service Express Mail (USPS).

US Highways 97 and 20, both of which run through Central Oregon, are two of Oregon’s major trucking routes. The 17 plus trucking companies that operate in Central Oregon utilize Highway 97 to access Interstate 5 (north-south) and Interstate 84 (east-west), reaching the Northwest’s metropolitan areas.

Mileage from Central Oregon to Select Cities
Area	Mileage	Drive Time
Los Angeles, California	821	12 hours, 55 minutes
Redding, California	277	5 hours, 20 minutes
San Francisco, California	492	8 hours, 25 minutes
Seattle, Washington	328	6 hours, 10 minutes
Olympia, Washington	254	4 hours, 31 minutes
Boise, Idaho	318	6 hours, 20 minutes
Portland, Oregon	175	3 hours, 15 minutes
Medford, Oregon	178	3 hours, 40 minutes

To view a more detailed map of Central Oregon's access to Western Markets in .pdf format (Adobe Acrobat Reader), please click here.

For freight, Burlington Northern, Union Pacific and the City of Prineville Railway provide direct rail connections for shipping to any market in the United States, Canada and Mexico. BNSF “team tracks” in Redmond offer local access to rail car delivery for those companies that do not have a rail spur to their property. To view the Northwest operating division from Burlington Northern Sante Fe railroad in .pdf format (Adobe Acrobat Reader), click here.

For passenger rail service, Amtrak provides passenger rail service to Central Oregon via the Chemult station, located approximately 60 miles south of Bend on Highway 97.

The city of Prineville Railway (COPR) is a customer-oriented short line railroad. Formed in 1918, it remains the oldest continuously operated municipal short line in the U.S., directly serving Crook County industry as well as Jefferson and Deschutes Counties. COPR connects with Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads at Prineville Junction, 17 miles from Prineville. Located on 30 acres, the Prineville Freight Depot compliments COPR services. The Freight Depot provides an important multi-modal transportation hub for the entire Central Oregon region, offering services that include transload, reload, storage, managed distribution, truck-to-truck transfer, and a heavy equipment ramp.

In May 2008, The City of Prineville Railroad was notified it would receive $3.5 million in funding from the State of Oregon through Connect Oregon II. The funds are earmarked to further develop the Freight Depot in moving freight in the region. The project was one of four that will benefit the region that made a short list recommended for approval by the Oregon Transportation Commission. Other projects include the intermodal transportation facility in Bend, the aircraft operations base for Butler Aircraft at Madras Airport, and funding improvements at the Redmond Airport.

Bend operates a municipal fixed-route bus transit system (BAT). Bus transportation by Greyhound is available from Bend, Madras, Prineville, and Redmond. CAC Transportation Inc. offers a shuttle service from Central Oregon to Portland and Central Cascade Lines provides shuttle service between Bend and La Pine.