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Relief, but at what cost? Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Medford's freeway interchanges are due for overhauls. Drivers in the north end of town are accustomed to roadwork - a redo at the intersection of highways 62 and 99 is nearing completion. Fixing Medford's clogged freeway interchanges will affect those who live and work nearby, some of whom say the benefits aren't worth it By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune Adjusting to the growing transportation needs of Southern Oregon demands sacrifice, but some area business owners and residents say that price is too high - and they won't give in without a fight. The Oregon Department of Transportation remains sympathetic to community concerns but realistic. State officials say traffic problems must be fixed before they grow worse, and plans for the future outweigh many personal concerns. New comments are unlikely to stop interchange project Although the public comment period for the proposed south Medford interchange has been extended 30 days, it's unlikely to stop construction. The Oregon Department of Transportation will take oral and written testimony until Jan. 14 on the $50 million project. The state also will air informational videos and host another public meeting. The delay came at the request of Medford residents who claimed the 45-day public comment session that ended Dec. 3 didn't give them enough time to review the complicated proposals. "The closer you get to significant impacts, the more interested people become," added Monte Grove, ODOT area manager. Grove said it's unlikely, although not impossible, that new ideas will surface when the testimony is reviewed after the second comment session ends. The South Medford Interchange Solutions Team will examine the comments before making its selection. ODOT has proposed three alternatives: making no changes to the interchange, moving it to Ellendale Avenue, and moving it to Highland Avenue. Highland is the state's preference. The public comments will be incorporated into the next draft study. Work is expected to begin in 2005. ODOT has drafted plans to overhaul Medford's north and south interchanges - projects supported by local, state and federal government. The multimillion-dollar projects are expected to provide much-needed relief for traffic congestion and cut down on air pollution for at least 20 years. But eliminating traffic woes comes with a price. East Medford residents fear the proposed south interchange will dump heavy traffic into their quiet neighborhood. North Medford business owners are fighting to save a traffic signal and road access that, if removed, would make access to their high-traffic established businesses difficult. Some transportation experts compare the large-scale projects to a necessary surgery that when complete, leaves the patient with limited mobility. Anytime you build a road project in a city, there will be problems, says Mike Montero, a Medford resident involved with the planning of both interchanges. "I don't know any way around it." "There are impacts. I wish there weren't," added Monte Grove, area director for ODOT. "But we're not mowing down homes or tearing out businesses." The need for change According to ODOT project information specialist Gary Leaming, traffic at both interchanges exceeds what they were designed for, raising safety issues. Traffic entering the city from Interstate 5 often clogs nearby streets and intersections unequipped to deal with a lot of cars. The gridlock causes fender-benders, endangers bicyclists and pedestrians and creates air pollution - problems that will only get worse as Medford grows, Leaming said. "Those intersections are failing. Traffic is backing up, making it hard to go from one place to another," Leaming said. "It's getting bad." Besides use by drivers passing through, I-5 in Medford gets a lot of use by locals. The freeway provides the quickest, most direct north-south route across town. Population projections, based on the 2000 census and the current growth rate, show that Medford will jump from its current total of 63,154 residents to 93,771 in 2030. "The growth is here, and the growth is coming." Leaming said. "We all drive that road and know what it's like." Both projects are designed to meet traffic needs until 2030 and perhaps beyond. The south interchange At Medford's 40-year-old south interchange, roughly 36,000 vehicles travel Barnett Road daily. As traffic gets more congested, Grove said, vehicles will soon begin backing up onto the freeway as gridlock and long lines of cars cause delays for motorists entering the city. Grove said that's unacceptable. A car stopped on Interstate 5 and vehicles traveling upwards of 70 mph could cause deadly accidents, he added. Frank Stevens, who serves as ODOT's project manager for both the north and south interchange projects, said extensive studies show that making improvements or remodeling the Barnett exit will provide temporary relief at best. "That doesn't give us any long-range solutions," Stevens added. To cope with congestion and future growth, ODOT favors a proposal that will move the Barnett interchange south and connect it to Highland Drive. The decision is expected to add 10 percent more traffic in the surrounding neighborhoods. Barbara Griffin, a member of the Eastside Neighborhood Coalition, is fighting the Highland proposal. She would rather see the city invest money in a direct north-south connector route across town. She has also urged ODOT build a third interchange at South Stage Road or create a beltline within the city, plans that Griffin said will preserve old, established residential areas. "I don't think planning for the future and maintaining neighborhoods is incompatible," Griffin said. "They're just going to move this problem over to our neighborhood," Griffin said. The north interchange There are similar problems and safety concerns at the city's north interchange. Leaming said last year, approximately 41,600 vehicles traveled daily from the north interchange along Highway 62, also called Crater Lake Highway, east of Poplar Drive. That figure is expected to spike to 54,800 in 2030. Also in 2000, 37,300 vehicles used Biddle Road daily by the north interchange. In 2030, ODOT anticipates 48,800 will take that same route daily. "You've got increasing traffic on (Highway) 62. You've got heavy congestion at the interchange area heading east on Highway 62," Leaming said. "You also have that mixture of interstate and heavy traffic that dumps onto Biddle Road." In 1998, ODOT spent more than $4 million to upgrade half of the interchange, creating an on-ramp that allows westbound vehicles on Highway 62 to get on I-5 southbound. This summer, ODOT plans to spend $36 million to reconfigure the I-5 ramp to allow for direct access to Highway 62. ODOT also plans to build two "jug handle" ramps that will connect Highway 62 to Biddle Road. Hoping to stop the project, the North Interchange-Concerned Business Owners group recently appealed ODOT's plans to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. No ruling has been announced. Scott McCullum, owner of the Rogue Regency Inn, said ODOT should have used more of the group's suggestions before pushing ahead. McCullum said ODOT had already made up its mind and did not take all of the organization's options (suggested by an independent traffic study) into account. "There could be some improvements (to the interchange) but not to the total that ODOT wants," McCullum said. "The cement was already set hard. It had been cast in stone." Adding a new exit Stevens said creating a third interchange within Medford won't solve the problems of pollution, congestion or safety. "If a third interchange would fix the problem, that's where we would be going," he added. Montero said that before a third interchange can be built, federal law mandates that surround interchanges must first meet specific guidelines. Phoenix's Fern Valley interchange, slated for upgrades this summer, would need various improvements along with the Barnett Road interchange. "All of the studies suggest fixing the interchanges does the job. It's as simple as that," Montero said. ODOT has looked into building an exit in the middle of the viaduct between the two current interchanges, but officials say that won't work. Grove said the cost would be astronomical and the construction would destroy the makeup of downtown Medford. To build, the state would need a vast amount of land to meet safety guidelines, and the city would be forced to improve and alter nearby roads to cope with increased traffic flow. "It would just have amazing impact, devastating impacts," Grove added. Many residents have urged ODOT to build an interchange at South Stage Road to alleviate problems at the Barnett exit. Although South Stage is an option ODOT is considering for the future, it won't be considered for several years. Grove said the majority of traffic entering Medford comes from the north. Studies show south Medford is a regional draw, and motorists use the Barnett exit to visit areas nearby. Grove said South Stage, about a mile south of Barnett, is too far south to lure traffic from Barnett Road. "I think one needs to be built, but just not right now," Montero said. "What might seem to some as a feasible remedy just isn't doable." Stevens said when complete, the new north and south interchanges will last more than 20 years. Stevens said attempting to build an interchange that will meet traffic needs for more than 20 years becomes a costly guessing game. "How accurate is your forecast?" Stevens said. "How much money should you spend on a facility that could or could not be overbuilt? There's no way to know what's really going to happen." 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.