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City gets $2 million for interchange Smith secures I-5 grant for Medford By Jessica Smith U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith handed community leaders a $2 million check Monday and pledged to do his best to send more federal funding Medford�s way. "We�re going to do everything we can to get the dollars back here," Smith told the Medford City Council shortly after a press conference where he announced he had secured $2 million for the planned overhaul of the city�s south freeway interchange. The $2 million grant, funded by the Federal Highway Administration, will cover engineering costs for the interchange project. State transportation officials expect to spend more than $40 million on the interchange, which they plan to move south to a connection with Highland Drive or Ellendale Drive. The state won�t make a final decision on the direction of the project until July or August. Construction is scheduled for 2005. Members of the Transportation Advocacy Committee, or TRADCO, a regional group of citizens and transportation officials, thanked Smith for his help with the interchange project. "I�d be remiss if I didn�t point out that $2 million is not nearly as much as we need," Brad Hicks, director of the Medford/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, told Smith. "If there�s more where that�s coming from, keep us in mind." Smith, who is in Southern Oregon this week to discuss his efforts to improve health care for seniors, made stops in Medford Monday to talk about the south interchange plan and a number of other projects proposed by the city. In a meeting with Medford council members, Smith said transportation is becoming an increasingly important issue in Congress. "It�s something with political potency to it," Smith said. "The public is demanding that we use better the money we have." Congress has funds to help improve U.S. highways, Smith said, but there is a backlog of work to be done nationwide. In addition to transportation issues, Smith said several other city projects are "legitimately worthy" of congressional support, including a study of the city�s aging sewer system. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.