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Feds allow more time for comments about interchange Local leaders persuade the agency to extend the deadline until Jan. 14 By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune The Federal Highway Administration announced Wednesday that it will give Medford residents one more chance to speak up before pushing ahead with a proposed $50 million interchange project in south Medford. Barbara Griffin of the Eastside Neighborhood Coalition said the delay gives her group one last chance to sway the community and get others involved. The organization opposes moving the freeway interchange from Barnett Road to Highland Avenue. "If people are willing to put forth the effort to save the old neighborhood, and therefore save the integrity of all of Medford," Griffin said, "then it's now time for people who have not been involved yet to write, to speak up, to call their city councilmen and say 'no-build.' " The Oregon Department of Transportation will extend the south Medford interchange public comment session 30 days beginning Friday. The new deadline is 5 p.m. Jan. 14. The decision effectively cancels Monday's meeting of the South Medford Interchange Solution Team. The team was expected to select a location for the interchange following years of public comment and research. Moving the interchange south and linking it to Highland is ODOT's preferred option of three alternatives. The FHA's decision was made following a request from the Medford City Council on behalf of the Eastside Neighborhood Association and Rep. Rob Patridge, R-Medford. Many residents told Medford council members last week they needed more time to review the project, and others said they didn't understand various aspects of the proposal. ODOT officials, who made the request to FHA following the council meeting, originally feared the delay could jeopardize $1 to $6 million in federal funding for the project. However, ODOT project information specialist Gary Leaming said the 30-day extension shouldn't greatly effect the project's timeline, which has a completion date of 2007. "With that extension, we're going to give the public several more opportunities to learn about the project," said Leaming. "We're just going to give the public an opportunity to weigh in on this important project." During the next month, ODOT plans to air two videos about the project numerous times on Rogue Valley Television, Channel 30. The times will be announced at a later date. ODOT also plans to focus on the south Medford interchange during its live monthly talk show on Jan. 9. A public information meeting is tentatively slated the second week in January. Additional information is available on the Web at smedfordinterchange.org. The original 45-day public comment period ended Dec. 3. Leaming said written letters that arrived following Dec. 3 will be included with comments received during the new session. Anyone interested in the Eastside Neighborhood Coalition can contact Griffin at 773-3006. "This story is not going to have a happy ending unless everyone gets involved," Griffin said. "We have this opportunity and we, as the citizens of Medford, don't want to be the ones that do now what was done to Medford 40 years ago with the viaduct." Residents can send written comments to ODOT regarding the project. Letters should be addressed to Greg Holthoff, environmental project manager, at 1158 Chemeketa St. N.E., Salem, OR 97301-2528. When the second public comment period ends, comments will be reviewed and one of three options will be selected for the south Medford interchange. The Highland alternative, preferred by ODOT, would create an extension of Highland Drive south of Barnett Road across Bear Creek to a new interchange at the south end of South Gateway Center. To the west, Belknap Road would be extended and link the new interchange to Highway 99. The Ellendale alternative would create an extension of Ellendale Drive southwest to a new interchange at the south end of the South Gateway Center and link to an extended Belknap Road. The third option involves no significant changes to the Barnett Road interchange, except minor safety improvements. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.