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Highway plan includes Rapp Road fix Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Talent will finally get new traffic signals and turn lanes at Rapp Road and Colver/Suncrest, if a draft state transportation improvement program is approved by the Oregon Transportation Commission. The safety improvements would be incorporated into a 2004 repaving project for Highway 99. Complaints prompted state to put improvement on agenda By Tony Boom TALENT � After years of citizen efforts, the state has planned safety improvements for two intersections on a dangerous stretch of Highway 99. Oregon�s Transportation Commission in December included traffic signals and left-turn lanes at the Rapp Road and Colver Road/Suncrest Road intersections in the draft State Transportation Improvement Program. It acted on a recommendation by the Rogue Valley Area Commission on Traffic. Signal installation and turn lanes will be incorporated into a 2004 repaving project for Highway 99 from the south Phoenix city limits to Creel Road in south Talent. Public hearings on the improvements will be held in March. The commission is expected to vote on final approval by October. Heavy traffic Average daily traffic counts compiled by the Oregon Department of Transportation show that 11,900 vehicles per day use Highway 99 just north of its intersection with Suncrest and Colver. At the West Valley View Road intersection with Highway 99, which has a signal, traffic count is 11,200 vehicles per day. A permanent ODOT counting station 1.4 miles south of Talent�s city limits on Highway 99 shows an average of 9,510 vehicles per day. "A lot of people have worked on this for a long time. It seems like a long distance off, but then these things are," said Nancy Henderson, who has headed efforts to make the highway safer. "I�m glad we weren�t put on the back burner and told to go away. I�m very pleased it�s going forward." When a driver lost his life just north of Rapp Road in 1999 � two years after her car was rear-ended in the same spot � Henderson began her campaign. It resulted in lower speed limits along a 2-mile stretch from Colver Road to Creel Road in July 2000. Henderson said she was told "it�s a losing proposition" when she started to circulate petitions for safety improvements. Several unsuccessful efforts had been made in earlier years. "It�s a project that we�ve been working on for a long time," said Mayor Marian Telerski. Henderson turned in 798 signatures on petitions to the area traffic commission in November. Those petitions sought left-turn lanes and a signal at Rapp Road. Both the mayor and the chief of police credit Henderson in helping to achieve the safety measures: "Because of her persistence, we felt obligated as a council to pursue the process with more diligence and fervor," said Telerski. "She�s been a driving force," said Police Chief Elmer Kammel. "We appreciate her efforts." Oregon Department of Transportation figures show there were 24 crashes resulting in 20 injuries at Rapp Road and Highway 99 for 1995 through 1999. But accidents at the site jumped from three in 1998 to 12 in 1999, the last year state statistics are available. Colver Road and Highway 99 had five crashes and five injuries during 1995-99. There have been no fatalities at either intersection for the 10 years ending in 1999. Henderson keeps her own statistics on accidents in the area by reviewing Talent Police Department logs. Her research shows 24 accidents between Creel and Colver roads in 2000. ODOT will spend $600,000 for improvements at the Colver Road/Suncrest Road intersection and $750,000 for the Rapp Road work. The paving overlay will cost $1.194 million, according to Debbie Timms of ODOT�s district office. Local efforts have helped Several efforts to slow down traffic and increase safety on Highway 99 in Talent were instituted in the last year. ODOT lowered speed limits along the highway from Creel Road to the Colver/Suncrest intersections in July 2000. The agency made the change after petitions submitted by Nancy Henderson led to a speed investigation. Speed limits are now 40 mph from Colver Road to Rapp Road, and 45 mph from Rapp to Creel Road. They were formerly 5 mph faster in each location. Police Chief Elmer Kammel used three ODOT grants to increase patrols on the highway during the summer. The grants, for about $3,000 each, paid for officer overtime to enforce speed limits, seat-belt use and drunken driving laws. Kammel estimates that citations doubled during the increased enforcement period. The city is seeking similar grants for this year. Talent also has obtained a reader board that shows drivers� speeds as clocked by a radar gun. The board is set up beside the highway. Community service officers have learned how to calibrate and use the gun. They cannot issue tickets, but they will call the police department if they spot excessive speed. Among those manning the gun and reader board is former Talent Mayor Frank Falsarella. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.