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TRANSPORTATION Westside road will give Central Point new access to Twin Creeks Plans for new westside road have been 15 years in the making Comment By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 31, 2015 at 2:09 PM By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 31, 2015 at 2:09 PM » Social News CENTRAL POINT — Fifteen years after developer Bret Moore set out to design much of the city's west side along Highway 99 between Pine Street and Scenic Avenue, a long-sought-after access road and railroad crossing is finally being built. The $3.5 million rail crossing project has been held up by jurisdictional issues, concerns about the area's ability to handle floodwaters and even a recession since Moore began creating his Twin Creeks development. Formally approved last month, the Twin Creeks rail crossing project will provide another access into the Twin Creeks area from nearby state Highway 99. Funding for the project will come from a combination of state and local dollars. A $2.67 million grant from the 2015-2018 Oregon Surface Transportation Improvement Program will cover 76 percent of the project, with city and developer funds contributed by Twin Creeks LLC making up the remainder. The new road would connect Highway 99 with portions of Haskell Road and Twin Creeks Crossing, which connects to Grant Road. Much of the road infrastructure has already been constructed with merely 300 feet — and the rail crossing — remaining. Moore said he was especially relieved to see sidewalks and a signalized crossing that would offer a safer alternative to Scenic Avenue between his development, Crater High School and downtown Central Point. "Scenic has no traffic light, just flashing red and yellow lights, and there are quite a few accidents there," Moore said. "It's just not a good intersection to contend with. This project will make a safer crossing for the kids going across to Crater." Moore noted the plan includes a sidewalk on the Crater side of the highway up to Crater's entrance. "So from Twin Creeks, folks could walk over to football games and concerts and other events without having to drive," he said. "One of our kids goes to Scenic (Middle School), and we would love for him to be able to ride his bike, but we're not comfortable with him crossing the highway at Scenic. It's bad enough in a car." Parks and Public Works Director Matt Samitore said the project had been delayed for a handful of reasons over the years and that city officials were pleased to see it finally nearing reality. "This is a project we've been needing to do for going on 15 years," Samitore said, noting delays came by way of everything from state and county requirements to upgrade the rail crossing at Pine and 99 to flooding potential and funding concerns due to the recession. Samitore said surrounding property owners and Moore would have additional projects that could be developed once the new crossing had been constructed in what is currently an empty area along the tracks. "There are several property owners who want to develop in that area currently, but they really can't until this is completed," he said. Moore said the crossing would benefit the entire community. "We always planned a road there, for the last 15 years," he said. "It's really going to give Central Point another way to get to the west side of the railroad tracks. There has been a concern in the past about what if, for some reason, the train has a crossing blocked at Pine and emergency vehicles need to get through?" He said the new access would help take pressure off of the intersection of Haskell and Pine, near Mae Richardson Elementary, where traffic is often backed up at busy times when school is in session. "I think this project is going to do a lot of good for the whole community in terms of opening up the city's west side and improving safety for people already living over there," Moore said. Samitore said development and design were set to go to bid by year's end. Contractor selection and construction will likely happen next summer and fall. Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 31, 2015 at 2:09 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » 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. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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