Businesses voice concerns over major highway roadwork near Bend, Ore.

Byline: Meghann Cuniff

Aug. 12--Wayne Schnur already has a difficult time explaining how to get to his Nels Anderson Road business, Bend Self Stor, and he's worried that a proposed plan for Highway 97 will make things even more complicated.

About 20 percent of his ad space in the Yellow Pages is devoted to a directional map, "and if they do this it's going to have to get a little bit bigger," Schnur said.

Plans to cut off access to Robal Road from Highway 97 under proposals for the Oregon Department of Transportation's Highway 97/20 plan have area store owners concerned about a possible drop in business and a decrease in land value.

ODOT drafted three options for the plan, all involving an interchange at Cooley Road and Highway 97 and an overpass at Robal Road.

A committee studying the options ranked the proposals and will recommend the third option, which calls for traffic …