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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Work underway on Ashland rest area ... Young guns can register for deer hunt ... 'My Secret Garden' claims top prize in GingerBread Jubilee ... Work underway on Ashland rest area ... Young guns can register for deer hunt ... 'My Secret Garden' claims top prize in GingerBread Jubilee ... TRAVEL Work underway on Ashland rest area Welcome center with OSP office will open in 2017 By John Darling for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 20, 2015 @ 10:36 am By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 20, 2015 @ 10:36 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Crews have begun work on the Siskiyou Rest Area and Welcome Center near the south Ashland interchange on the northbound side. “They’re just setting signs and starting to mobilize in” and may be restrained by weather in the near term, said Gary Leaming, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. The contractor, Wildish Standard Paving of Eugene, will work on drainage, grading and paving of ramps, roadway, parking area and an access road to Crowson Road, half a mile away. A second phase will include construction of the rest area and welcome center facilities, landscaping and picnic areas, with bid opening expected in April. The first phase is expected to cost about $6.3 million. The entire project is expected to total about $12 million and be completed in 2017. ODOT encountered resistance from neighbors, who worried there will be noise and fumes from large trucks, as well as trespassing from transients entering the valley. “The crux of it was the Oak Knoll neighbors with concerns about everything from safety to transients," Leaming said. "They had a long list of concerns and grievances and we responded to each one in a satisfactory manner. We went to many meetings of the Ashland City Council and the Jackson County Planning Commission.” In response to objections about truck noise and fumes, ODOT agreed to build separate rest rooms for truckers at the Port of Entry 5 miles north “and banished them from the rest area,” he said. They also enhanced fencing of the rest area. Though the visitor center is just outside the city limits, ODOT will get potable water and sewer service to the complex from the city of Ashland and water for landscaping from the Talent Irrigation District. The visitor center will be built in a so-called Cascadia design and house an array of multimedia primers on tourist attractions in Ashland, the Rogue Valley and the state of Oregon. Tourists from California, the biggest revenue stream of the industry, will have a chance to make decisions about where to visit, near and far, said Leaming. The center will provide “safe harbor” to tourists after their winding and sometimes unnerving journey down Siskiyou Pass, the highest part of I-5, Leaming said. It also will house an office for Oregon State Police troopers. The informational heart of the visitor center will be staffed by TravelOregon, which is funded by a statewide 1 percent transient lodging tax. More than 3 million vehicles travel north on I-5 into Oregon annually, according to ODOT statistics. The building project is funded with state and federal dollars from the gas tax and other sources. The visitor center will be near milepost 12. A former rest area near milepost 10, on the downgrade from Siskiyou Summit, was considered unsafe, with several vehicle fatalities around the site before it was closed in the late 1990s. ODOT was obligated under federal transportation funding rules to create another one nearby, in a safer place. Exit 19 on the north side of Ashland was explored but rejected when it had too many private sector planning issues. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted Nov. 20, 2015 @ 10:36 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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