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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 10, 2004 I-5 work replaces old stretch By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings The Oregon Department of Transportation is planning to repave Interstate 5 from north Ashland to South Medford and rehabilitate four bridges between the two cities. This portion of Interstate 5, near the West Valley View bridge in Talent, will be part of a repaving effort that extends from Ashland to Medford beginning next summer. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings The $12 million project, set to begin early next year, will close down one lane in each direction and divert over-wide trucks off the interstate and onto Highway 99, according to Gary Leaming, a project information specialist in ODOT's White City office. The over-wide trucks could leave and get back on I-5 at Talent and Phoenix, passing over West Valley View Bridge in Talent and Fern Valley Bridge in Phoenix, he said. The detour route has City of Talent officials concerned about traffic and impacts to West Valley View Bridge, which is cracked and scheduled for replacement, probably in summer. "We have some questions about whether it's appropriate to divert trucks onto a bridge that has some fractures," said Talent City Manager Betty Wheeler. She also worried about extra traffic on Highway 99, which will be undergoing work between Rapp Road and Culver Road in Talent this spring and summer. "These three projects seem to be converging all at one time," Wheeler said. Minor shoulder work will begin on I-5 as soon as next week. Crews will then begin scouring the four I-5 bridges in January or February and replacing their roadway surfaces with extremely strong material. That project will take a few months, Leaming said. During the I-5 bridge work, bridge widths will be narrowed to 13 feet. About five to 10 over-wide trucks per day will need to detour, he said. ODOT officials are negotiating with trucking companies for over-wide trucks to travel at night, he said. They also are investigating whether West Valley View bridge can accommodate the loads, according to Leaming. West Valley View Bridge currently does not have a load limit, said Jackson County Engineer Dale Petrasek. "It's a girder-cracked type bridge. Right now, there are no load limits. But if we don't replace it within a few years, there will have to be," he said. "We will continue to monitor the cracks in the girders to make sure the cracks don't get bigger and more don't appear." In a nearly $4 million project, the narrow West Valley View Bridge will be replaced with a bridge that includes wide sidewalks and bike lanes, according to Petrasek. The timing of the work is still being determined, but likely will take place this coming summer and the following summer, he said. Because of concerns about fish, crews can only work in the creek below the bridge from June 15 to September 15, he said. If the West Valley View Bridge in Talent cannot be used during the interstate bridge work, trucks possibly could leave and return to I-5 using Medford's south exit and Ashland's north exit, according to Petrasek. Meanwhile, the interstate's lanes will be repaved from Milepost 18.7 to Milepost 26.7 during the summer, with most of the work done at night to lessen impacts on drivers, Leaming said. "This is one of the last original sections of the interstate," he said. "We got more than 40 years of use out of it, which is incredible." Built in the early 1960s, the section is rutted, especially in the slow lane, according to Leaming. A $5.7 million project to modernize Highway 99 between Rapp Road and Culver Road, widen the Wagner Creek Bridge, install a traffic signal at Rapp Road and possibly modify the West Valley View Road signal is going to bid in December and could start in March, he said. Construction would continue at least through the summer, he said. Although the Interstate 5 work and Highway 99 work could overlap, Leaming said he does not expect significant disruptions. ODOT is developing a response plan in case of a hazardous materials spill, he said. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams