Document text
New intersection will take a little getting used to But just a little, ODOT manager predicts about Medford's Big X By JILL BRISKEY State officials speculate that motorists will have a tougher time learning to call the Big Y the Big X than navigating its new roadways. "It's a change. It's different, and it takes people time to get used to it," said Joseph Thomas, project manager with the Oregon Department of Transportation. "It will happen. Give it a week or so." The first official motorists to cruise the new highway before it was opened to the public on Friday found their way across without a hitch. Medford Mayor Lindsay Berryman and Transportation Advocacy Committee chairman Mike Burrill broke the ribbon across the new portion of Highway 238 during a ceremony celebrating the project's completion. "Here we go," Berryman called from the passenger seat of a 1941 Studebaker Commander. The area's biggest construction project in more than a decade rerouted Highway 238 and reconfigured the intersection of highways 99 and 62. Crater Lake Highway is now connected to Rossanley Drive at Sage Road. The new extension is called Highway 238. West Table Rock Road is now connected to Central Avenue at McAndrews Road. The new extension, which begins west of Highway 99, is called North Central Avenue. "We've opened it up now and people are just going to fly across it," said Frank Stevens, solution team manager for ODOT. "This is the new state highway. It's going to pull (tourists) off other roadways and free up congestion." The project cost roughly $31 million, with $20 million for construction, $9 million for right-of-way acquisition and $2 million for engineering. Planning for the project began in the 1980s with the goal of easing traffic congestion in Medford and cutting down on air pollution. Ground was broken in May 2000. Completion was originally slated for October, but an agreement to halt most construction during the holiday season pushed the date back to February. Friday, following the ceremony, state crews removed all barricades, cones and barrels, activated traffic signals and allowed motorists to travel the new roadways covering the old Medco properties. Springfield-based Hamilton Construction was the project's lead contractor, and 19 sub-contractors were used. A total of 53 pieces of property were acquired for the project. Three property owners took ODOT to civil court, seeking more money for their property's acquisition. Two cases are pending; the third was settled Feb. 8 when a judge ruled that ODOT should pay the owners of a Wendy's franchise at 1920 N. Pacific Highway nearly twice what it first offered in compensation. The amount was still significantly less than the Wendy's owner wanted. One small portion of the project remains. Crews on Friday began work to close the ramps to McAndrews Road east of the overpass. Traffic on the McAndrews overpass will be restricted to one lane of travel in each direction until the project ends March 15. The next phase of the Highway 238 improvement project involves rebuilding North Ross Lane to Hanley Road and Beebe Corner. However, funding has not been identified for that project and no date has been set. 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.