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Region's roads may get part of state bonds By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune More road projects in Southern Oregon may be funded this year after the Legislature voted in special session to authorize the sale of $500 million in transportation bonds, $100 million more than planned. Oregon Department of Transportation officials will consider projects cut from the original list, including repaving Siskiyou Boulevard in Ashland and widening and improving North Ross Lane between McAndrews Road and Rossanley Drive in Medford. But local projects are in competition with dozens of other candidates across the state, said Bruce Warner, director of the Oregon Department of Transportation. ODOT will sell more bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates, Warner told Rogue Valley Area Commission on Transportation members Tuesday in White City. The Oregon Transportation Investment Act, or House Bill 2142, originally provided $400 million to fast-track projects, especially in urban areas that have been passed over for rural projects. Some 131 projects were approved, including $28 million worth in ODOT's Region 3, which includes Jackson and Josephine counties. The revenue source is last October's increase in vehicle title fees, from $10 to $30 for autos. The fee hike is expected to generate $71.2 million per biennium in state highway funds earmarked for bond payments. During last weekend's special session, legislators gave the okay for ODOT to sell $100 million more in bonds, Warner said. That means more money for some of the $1.1 billion worth of road projects on the original wish list. And that will translate to more Oregon jobs, Warner said. "Transportation investments will go a long way to spur the economy and get Oregon back to work," Warner said. In Southern Oregon, the candidate project list included repaving the Brownsboro Highway in Eagle Point, repaving Highway 99 near Walker Avenue, as well as Highway 66 near Crowson Road in Ashland, and rebuilding Highway 238 near New Hope Road in Grants Pass. The five-member Oregon Transportation Commission will make the final decision about which projects to fund later this year. Here are the local projects already receiving OTIA funding. Some will begin as early as this summer. The new South Medford I-5 interchange, $14 million. A drainage system and reconstruction of California Street (Highway 238) through downtown Jacksonville, $3.8 million. Bike lanes, sidewalks, curbs, gutters and new pavement on Highway 99, from Colver to Rapp roads, Talent, $3.48 million. A drainage system, sidewalks, bike path and new pavement on Highway 99 through downtown Gold Hill, $1.75 million. A new Interstate 5 off-ramp at Depot Street in Rogue River, $1.49 million. Sidewalks, curbs, landscape and new pavement on Rogue River Bridge to Highway 199, Grants Pass, $1.1 million. Sidewalks, curbs, landscape and new pavement on Highway 99, Sixth to Oak streets, Phoenix, $1.05 million. A new intersection at Pine Street and Highway 99 in Central Point, $524,000. A roundabout at Siskiyou, Gresham, Third and East Main in Ashland, $500,000. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.