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54 °F 5 Day Forecast Sunday, October 26, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend July 15, 2003 Mail Tribune / Satsuki Doi Construction crews begin work on a new bridge over Bear Creek that will serve Medford�s new sports park and the Bear Creek Greenway. Onward and upward with the Greenway By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune It looks like a bridge to nowhere right now, but the little span across Bear Creek signals the start of something much bigger. The temporary bridge east of the old Starlite Drive-In marks the first phase of construction on a new section of the Bear Creek Greenway. The 18-mile paved creekside path will eventually link Central Point, Medford, Phoenix, Talent and Ashland. The newest section of the path will link Medford’s soon-to-be-developed sports park with Phoenix’s Blue Heron Park. The 132-acre park will include playing fields for team sports such as softball, soccer and baseball. Plans also call for hiking trails in undeveloped streamside areas. The temporary bridge will serve as a working platform for crews during construction of a permanent span. The finished bridge will include vehicle lanes for access to the sports park as well as pedestrian lanes to carry walkers and cyclists along the Greenway. Advertisement The temporary bridge will allow builders to work with minimal disturbance to the creek, which is used by migrating salmon. Oregon law allows in-stream construction activity only between June 15 and Sept. 15 to minimize damage to fish habitat and prevent disturbance of migrating fish. The 230-foot permanent bridge will be known as the Rotary Bridge, in appreciation for several Jackson County Rotary clubs’ financial commitment to the Greenway and the sports park. The clubs have adopted the Greenway as part of their project to mark Rotary International’s centennial and agreed to raise $400,000 for the Greenway and $200,000 to develop playing fields at the sports park, said Joy Olson, executive director of the Bear Creek Greenway Foundation. The Greenway foundation hopes to raise about $3 million to build the final sections of the paved bike path: a 2-mile stretch from Barnett Road to the Medford sports park; and 1.5 miles from Talent to Phoenix. Greenway advocates hope the fund-raising campaign will allow them to complete a path that was first envisioned in 1898. Construction did not begin until 1973, and the project has moved in fits and spurts as backers searched for funds from state and federal agencies. Ninety percent of the $2.48-million price tag for the current project comes from the federal Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century, known by the acronym of TEA 21. The remaining 10 percent comes from the Greenway Foundation and the cities of Medford and Phoenix. Doubts about the future availability of large federal grants prompted Greenway advocates to seek local dollars to finish the bike path, hopefully by 2005. The contractor for the project, Holm II of Salem, hopes to complete all the in-stream foundation work for the bridge this summer, said Karen Smith, Jackson County’s Greenway coordinator. Holm has until December 2004 to finish the entire project, but if all goes well, work could be finished within a year, Smith said. Reach reporter Bill Kettlerat 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times