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Upgrades will turn Lozier Lane into thoroughfare Construction has begun on improvements to Prune Street, which will act as a detour once major upgrades begin on Lozier Lane in west Medford. [Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta] Tuesday Apr 4, 2017 at 4:14 PM Apr 4, 2017 at 4:23 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm A one-mile stretch of Lozier Lane from West Main Street to Stewart Avenue is in the midst of a $7 million project that will turn this country road into a major thoroughfare in west Medford. Scheduled for completion in August 2018, it is a joint effort by the city of Medford and Jackson County. About $6 million of the funding came from federal sources, said Cory Crebbin, Medford public works director, the rest from the city and county. "It's a collector street, which is supposed to handle volumes of up to about 10,000 vehicles a day," Crebbin said. "I think if you look at current Lozier Lane, putting 10,000 cars a day down there is not a great idea." Lozier has open drainage ditches on both sides of the narrow, two-lane road. Part of the road is under county jurisdiction but is inside Medford's urban growth boundary.  "The beauty of it is, we're also improving the county portion to city standards because that's in the UGB, and if it's built to city standards, when we annex property, we will take over the street," Crebbin said. "This simplifies future annexations." The county provided about $500,000 toward the project, said Mike Kuntz, engineer with the Jackson County Roads Department. Kuntz said Lozier Lane was constructed about 100 years ago, and outside of getting paved about 80 years ago, "it’s had very little in the way of improvements." "When it was first constructed, it was very rural out there," Kuntz said. "The town has grown around it, and traffic volumes have increased drastically. It doesn’t have any bike and (pedestrian) facilities and significant bike and pedestrian demands." The upgrades to Lozier are part of a long-term effort to create a three-mile-long stretch of thoroughfare from South Stage Road to Rossanley Drive, providing a north-south connector through west Medford. The project will include a continuous left-turn lane, sidewalks, bike lanes and street lights. To accomplish the widening project, the city obtained rights of way from more than 70 property owners. On Monday, workers began the first phase of the project by tearing up Prune Street where it meets Lozier to install improved underground storm drains. Prune Street will act as a detour route while Lozier is under construction. One lane of traffic is closed on Prune Street between Vick Lane and Cherry Street through Friday. Vick Lane and Cherry Street also will have lane closures as required. The contractor, Oregon Mainline Paving of McMinnville, will be working in the public right of way between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Traffic control, including flaggers, will be in place. This summer, Medford hopes to start a project improving Lozier Lane from Kime Street to Cunningham Avenue, Crebbin said.