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County is silent on route of bypass Commissioners OK new road, but opt to let state pick route By MELISSA MARTIN The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday to support Jacksonville's pursuit of a new state highway that would reduce traffic in the historic downtown area. But commissioners refused to endorse a specific bypass route, leaving that job to state highway officials. "With all this information we received today, there's no way we could deliberate about which route," said Chairman Jack Walker. Commissioners listened to route debates for six hours and examined dozens of photographs and maps before directing county staff to adopt the bypass into Jackson County's Comprehensive Plan without naming a specific route. The county's vote moves forward a bypass originally proposed 37 years ago as a way of getting gravel trucks and other traffic away from Jacksonville's historic brick buildings and tourist center. But the highway is at least a decade and several steps away from reality. It still needs Oregon Department of Transportation funding, a federal environmental study, engineering and the state's purchase of property in the highway's path, said Joe Strahl, county roads director. The bypass route also lacks a unified voice, said ODOT regional director John Vial. "We've seen many good projects be set aside because the community can't come together and resolve the differences," Vial said. During Tuesday's public hearing, about 10 people spoke in favor of the city of Jacksonville's approved route, called the northwest arterial corridor, while 25 people spoke in favor of a southern bypass that follows an old mining road. The northwest arterial corridor would leave Old Stage Road and connect to Highway 238 near Pair-a-dice Ranch Road; the southern route would leave South Stage Road near the landfill, follow Sterling Creek Road and connect to Highway 238 near Poorman's Creek Road. Both routes have similar obstacles, including a pear orchard and historical farm, the federal government's identifying of an endangered species and the potential for steep, 6 percent grades that would require blasting and cutting through hillsides to construct. "The northwest bypass is a poorly planned, expensive, Band-Aid operation that will leave a permanent, ugly scar on Jacksonville,'' testified orthopedic surgeon Darrell Weinman, who photographed both routes from a helicopter this past week. "It would overload the dangerous canyon roadway over Jacksonville Hill, not fit with regional traffic corridors and not divert traffic from South Stage Road around Jacksonville," the Walker Creek Road resident said. "It is an expensive truck ramp that only addresses the short-term problem." The city's proposed route weaves through one of the region's highest-priced grouping of homes, which translates into substantial property tax revenue for Jackson County, said Ken Krieser, a Livingston Road resident. The northern bypass route hangs like a cloud over property titles, driving down values, he said. The city's northern route would impact 278 properties valued at $20.3 million, while the southern route would impact 62 properties valued at $8.6 million, said Lyle McLaughlin, an Old Stage Road resident and a member of the state's Citizens Advisory Committee for Highway 62. The southern route is longer -- 5 miles compared to 1.2 miles for the northwest route -- and more costly to build, but the difference could be made up in property acquisitions, he said. City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen presented a different set of numbers. The northwest route would impact 20 properties, compared with the southern route's 40 properties, he said. John Trum surprised commissioners with the news that he found on his property a a flower -- Gentner's fritillary -- recently named to the federal Endangered Species List. Trum lives on Autumn Lane, where homes valued between $500,000 and $1 million lie in the northern route's path. But the same could be said for the southern route, according to Wyntergreen. The rare lily was also found on property near Poorman's Creek Road along the southern route. Both sightings could slow down the bypass project during its federal environmental study. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA