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--> --> Grange pushes for expressway through Oregon COOS BAY (AP) - It would be long and it could be lonely, but a proposed expressway linking Coos Bay with the Idaho border might just lead to economic stimulus in rural Oregon. Coos County voters will vote on the Oregon State Grange proposal in the May primary, and the Grange hopes the advisory vote will be a warm-up for a possible statewide measure in November. John Shank, Grange legislative director and Coos Bay resident, said farmers' organizations across the state are prepared to campaign for the project. State officials so far have shown little backing, though the Grange has been pushing the project since 1996. Proponents say the $532 million project would cut about four hours from the travel time between Coos Bay and Ontario and open up new economic opportunities for rural communities in Southern Oregon. The new expressway would use existing highways plus two new 100-mile sections likely to be built as toll roads. Shank said some of the strongest Grange support for the expressway comes from the Portland area because it would reduce traffic congestion, forestall the need for expensive new highway projects and possibly dampen farmland-consuming population growth. The Grange has filed paperwork for a statewide initiative petition it plans to begin circulating in March. The petition will require nearly 67,000 signatures to make the statewide ballot. One section would likely connect Coos Bay and Oakridge, crossing I-5 south of Drain. The other would run from the junction of Highways 58 and 97 north of Chemult and connect to a point on Highway 20 east of Burns. Existing roads - Highway 58 from Oakridge east to Highway 97, and Highway 20 from the end of the new road east of Burns to Ontario - would make up the rest of the route. The state initiative proposal doesn't specify how to pay for the project but requires the state to "explore all means to expedite funding." Presumably, the state would issue bonds to build the new roads and pay them off with tolls. The going toll rate in other states is about 4 cents a mile for cars and 25 cents a mile for trucks per 100 miles, Shank said. That means the toll for each 100-mile segment would run about $4 for cars and $25 for trucks Patrick Cooney, deputy director of communications for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said the higher-ups in his department are aware of the Grange proposal, but none have come out in support. "The question is how many people would travel that route and pay the tolls," he said. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing