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Third lane has role in traffic Why can't the right-hand, northbound lane in front of Fred Meyer on Highway 62 be changed to a right-turn-only lane? This would allow people on Poplar Drive to make an easy right turn onto the highway and also keep people from using the rest of the short lane to squeeze in a few car lengths ahead. -- Glenn A., Medford There's logic at work here, Glenn, but it's a federal government kind of logic. That third lane on Highway 62 is known in the business as a merge lane. It's a long one as merge lanes go, starting at the freeway off-ramp and running past Fred Meyer and Poplar before petering out. It's there to allow freeway traffic to move into highway traffic. But the purpose is complicated in this case because there's a lot going on in that stretch of Highway 62 -- traffic is heavy and fast, and two signal lights stop cars, said Alex Georgevitch of the Oregon Department of Transportation. Those factors played into the decision to extend the lane for nearly a half a mile, Georgevitch notes. Federal guidelines determine how long merge lanes must be -- and in this case, the government said the lane must extend past Poplar. That's why your suggestion -- turning a middle section of the merge lane into a right-turn-only lane -- wouldn't work. (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) Today's News Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA