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Engineer will air ideas for untangling south interchange By PETER WONG No single alternative will do it, but a traffic engineer will talk tonight about a combination of alternatives that he thinks may relieve traffic at south Medford's freeway interchange. The presentation to the citizens advisory committee on the south interchange project is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Rogue Federal Credit Union, 1370 Center Drive, Medford. Jim Hanks, president of JRH Transportation Engineering in Eugene, and deputy manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation project, is the presenter. With up to 33,000 cars and trucks passing through it daily, the south Medford interchange with Interstate 5 is considered the city's worst traffic bottleneck. Hanks, in an interview Tuesday, declined to disclose traffic projections based on a new computer model or specific recommendations to relieve future congestion. He said he will talk about those tonight. He said that based on a study of the seven alternatives presented by ODOT, plus other suggestions, none by itself will relieve congestion without side effects. Some combinations will help, he said, but some alternatives will not. His summary of findings: For several north-south connector streets in southeast Medford, but no major changes at the interchange: "We can produce a sufficient reduction in traffic at the interchange," he said, but traffic will increase generally in residential neighborhoods. He said if traffic were limited to one or two north-south connector streets, "traffic actually will increase." For a realigned interchange slightly to the south of the current one, and new east-west connectors linking Garfield Street with Highland Drive or Ellendale Drive: "Those can work fairly reasonably," he said, but would increase traffic in other south Medford neighborhoods. He said obtaining rights of way may be questionable. A more direct link between Barnett Road and Stewart Avenue, the east end of which puts traffic at the interchange: Because of railroad tracks on Stewart west of Highway 99, "you run into a really big problem." New street parallel to Barnett Road: Making Barnett one-way eastbound and a new street south of it one-way westbound might help, he said, but it would not work the other way. Additional I-5 interchange or overpass at South Stage Road: "It may have some beneficial effect for the city as a whole," Hanks said. "But it will have no material effect on what happens at the south interchange." He said a new interchange at South Stage Road would be too far for motorists headed downtown or to southeast Medford. The information presented tonight will help the citizens advisory committee and transportation planners whittle down the list of alternatives in May, when at least two will be chosen for closer study. They can be combinations of any already on the table. Those alternatives, plus the consequences of no action, will become part of a draft environmental impact statement scheduled for release in November. The EIS is required before construction can start in 2003. The project would cost around $30 million. The state's share of $15 million for the project hinges on whether Oregon voters uphold higher gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees in Measure 82 in the May 16 primary election. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA