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Fern Valley fix won't begin until spring 2002 PHOENIX -- The roadwork being done at night at the I-5 interchange at Fern Valley Road isn't the long-anticipated fix of the congested corridor. Oregon Department of Transportation Solution Team Manager Debbie Timms says improvements to Fern Valley Road -- including traffic signals at the off-ramps, the relocation of Luman Road and North Phoenix Road and the widening of the I-5 overpass -- won't begin until the spring of 2002. The current work is limited to an asphalt overlay -- routine maintenance scheduled for all the freeway ramps between Medford and Ashland. Both the north- and south-bound I-5 offramps have been classified by the state as failing during peak hours -- the morning and evening rush hours. "Failing" occurs when too many vehicles enter an intersection simultaneously causing significant delays. In the case of the offramps, the delays go from an issue of aggravation to a safety concern when vehicles waiting to turn onto Fern Valley Road begin to back up onto the freeway. Timms says $2.45 million has been budgeted by ODOT for improvements to Fern Valley Road, but the agency hasn't been decided which projects will actually happen. "There isn't enough money to fix it all now," said Timms. "I see it as a phased project." But planned improvements are complicated by the fact that each project is dependent on another getting done, creating a financial snowball effect. Signals can't be installed until the overpass is widened to accommodate a left-turn lane for westbound vehicles wanting to go south on I-5. And the intersections with signals won't be safe until Luman Road, Pear Tree Lane and North Phoenix Road are dealt with. A transportation analysis team will arrive from Salem this summer to begin a study of the traffic problems in the area. They will determine what can be done for the amount of money budgeted, said Timms. The team will work with city officials and conduct public hearings with a decision scheduled by August. The need for road improvements on Fern Valley has been discussed by the city since 1993. Two transportation studies were conducted: one in 1995 by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments and one in 1997 by JRH Engineering. The City Council adopted the proposed road improvements, including a four-lane road with turning lanes, in 1998. The specific location of the relocated North Phoenix Road has yet to be selected, but it is planned to intersect with Fern Valley Road east of DSU Peterbilt. A relocated Luman Road is planned to meet with Fern Valley west of the Help-U-Sell building at a new joint entrance to the Pear Tree Factory Outlet Stores, the Holiday RV Park and McDonald's. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA