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Crews work overtime to finish highway project before things get wet Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Lunchtime traffic backs up on Riverside Avenue as it approaches the Big Y interchange, which is in its final phase of construction. The intersection should be finished and completely open next month. By MELISSA MARTIN Paving crews worked 20 hours straight Friday to get the state highway project near the Big Y done before the rainy season. "We worked a marathon shift," said Stewart Frantz, an LTM supervisor. His 12-man crew poured and rolled 4.4 million pounds of asphalt, from Red Lobster to Skippers restaurant, where Highway 62 meets Highway 99. They started at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and ended about 11:30 a.m. Friday. "We would have quit at 6 a.m. but it would have created traffic hazards and a potential for accidents," Frantz said. Learning the new directions Drivers will enjoy the shortcuts but may have to get used to new names when the 3.2 miles of highway opens next month. For a shorter trip to the mall from Jacksonville Highway, drivers can take Hanley to Rossanley, cross Sage Road and follow the new connection to Highways 62 or 99, said Gary Leaming, ODOT project information specialist. If you're coming from Oregon Street in downtown Jacksonville, follow South Stage Road to Ross Lane, Hanley and Rossanley before reaching the new highway at Sage Road. You will cross a 30-foot high bridge over the railroad tracks, with Timber Products and Boise Cascade lumber mills visible on each side. The overpass is situated on the old Medford Corporation mill site, with its prime view of Roxy Ann Peak. When the project opens late next month, don't be surprised by the name changes. What local folks call Jacksonville Highway will officially be West Main Street. Part of Hanley and all of Rossanley will become Jacksonville Highway 238 to its merger with Highway 62 at the Rogue Valley Mall. The new highway that begins across Highway 99 from Table Rock Road will be called North Central Avenue. It will meet old Central Avenue beneath the McAndrews overpass, next to the Timber Products office. This is the 18th straight day paving crews have worked to beat the rains. The 3.2 miles of new road in the state's $15.2 million highway project near the Rogue Valley Mall is expected to open next month. "On all our projects, there's a crunch this time of year - everybody wants to get done before the weather turns," said Mark Thompson, Oregon Department of Transportation assistant project manager. It won't be too soon for Scott MacNeil, who has maneuvered many tricky lane merges and waited patiently in long lines in the construction zone. "They should have had a policeman out here directing traffic because the lights are not adequate to handle all of these cars," MacNeil said, while stopping for lunch at a Wendy's restaurant. "But it's going to be worth the aggravation," MacNeil said. "I live in Jacksonville and it will save me a lot of time when it's finished." Besides the paving, the project still needs painted bike lanes, center line stripes, some sidewalks and traffic signals at four intersections. Lights will be at Sage and Rossanley, West Table Rock and Highway 99, the Rogue Valley Mall's middle entrance and Highway 62, and Highways 62 and 99, said Bill Boyett, ODOT public service representative. Green and red lights will be timed according to predicted traffic volumes, but timers will be readjusted once the highways open, Thompson said. But for the next few days, crews will work around the 40,000 cars and trucks that squeeze through the Big Y intersection daily. When the paving is complete this next week, crews will have poured and rolled 127 million pounds of rock and oil. The pavement sits on top of a 10-inch rock base - 144 million pounds of aggregate - enough to fill 2,880 truck and trailer loads. "People yell and scream but we're just doing our jobs and trying to make the roads nicer," Frantz said. "Once the job is done and people have nice, new pavement to drive on, they will forget about all the inconveniences." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.