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Y? To cross the road Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Construction at the Big Y interchange in north Medford is expected to continue through November. Road work will spill onto Court Street Sunday when crews begin excavating in the area for a paving project later this month. ODOT on highway project: 'It's not going to be fun' By JESSICA SMITH Some big changes are coming for the Big Y. Road work related to the extension of Highway 238 - a main link to Jacksonville - will mean traffic detours and possibly delays at the intersection where Table Rock Road meets Crater Lake and North Pacific highways. "We really, truly will be out in the middle of the Big Y," said Bill Boyett, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. "It's not going to be fun for drivers." Preliminary road work begins at 7 p.m. Sunday with the closure of the left lane on Court Street, just south of the Big Y. The lane will be closed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. Mark Thompson, assistant project manager for ODOT, said crews will excavate the Big Y in preparation for road paving that is expected to begin by late July. The work is part of a $16 million road-building project to turn the Big Y into a big X. ODOT hopes to relieve traffic congestion at the busy intersection and give motorists on the north and west fringes of Medford better access to downtown. Construction crews have been working since last summer to connect Crater Lake Highway to Rossanley Drive at Sage Road and West Table Rock Road to Central Avenue at McAndrews Road. The new roads, which cut through vacant land, are expected to open late this year. The state finished building the Central Avenue extension, which connects West Table Rock Road to Central under the McAndrews Road overpass. That road won't be opened to drivers, however, until construction begins on the Big Y interchange, where Crater Lake Highway meets North Pacific Highway. A specific timeline was unavailable, but ODOT expects to begin the pavement work sometime later this month. Construction will be from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. to minimize effects on traffic. "They're going to be ripping the road up and paving and then get everything buttoned up for when people come through that area in the morning," said Gary Leaming, a spokesman for ODOT. At night, traffic will be restricted to one lane through the work area. According to Thompson, motorists may have "unrestricted" use of the new interchange by the end of the year. The project deadline is December and Thompson said ODOT expects work will be "substantially complete" in November. 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.