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68 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 17, 2005 Temporary bridge closure causes concern for residents By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune WIMER — Jackson County engineers and local fire officials are working to ease neighborhood concerns about the planned temporary closure of a bridge on East Evans Creek Road. The bridge’s concrete girder system is cracked and the whole bridge needs to be replaced, says Jackson County construction engineer Mike Kuntz. "The bridge will be closed for approximately two and a half months starting as early as June 15 and lasting no longer than ... Sept. 2," says Kuntz. Traffic will be rerouted via Minthorne, Pine Grove and Queens Branch roads. Some neighbors were upset to discover plans to replace the bridge included a detour instead of a temporary bridge, says Kuntz. Advertisement Rod and Paralee Eadie of Pine Grove Road sent a 10-page letter to ODOT, which was eventually forwarded to Kuntz. The decision not to install a temporary bridge was affected by lack of public outcry and tight county finances. A two-month temporary bridge would have added $120,000 to the $2.285 million project, he said. The Eadies, under the impression the closure — not the general bridge construction — would be for seven or eight months, expressed safety concerns for recreational users of their quiet street now that detouring traffic will be diverted on to Pine Grove Road. "It will now be totally unsafe for walkers or bicyclists," wrote the Eadies. The county sought community comments from advisory committees, and held a public meeting in Rogue River in September to explain the details of replacing the failing bridge about 700 feet south of Queens Branch Road, says Kuntz. "We had one phone call expressing concern," says Kuntz. "Everyone else that commented felt the detour was fine." Kuntz says precautions are being taken to ensure safety. "We’re putting up signs at both ends of the road letting people know about the bridge closure," says Kuntz. "The speed limit will be 35 mph. Hopefully people will cooperate." Paralee Eadie says drivers regularly violate speed and traffic laws there. "Right now we have no posted speed limit. Even our local residents don’t go 35 mph," says Eadie. "So, unless they have a sheriff there to give tickets ... ." Eadie says a four-way stop at Pine Grove and Menthorne roads would help control traffic. Another concern for the Eadies is emergency services response time. The detour could create critical lag time — particularly for the mostly volunteer Evans Valley Fire District, she says. Not so, says Fire Chief Bill Fuller. Fuller was contacted by Kuntz months ago regarding potential concerns. People living on Covered Bridge Road would be the most affected, Fuller says. Since the failure of the Wimer Covered Bridge, emergency services deployed from Wimer would have to reroute back to Minthorne from their East Evans Creek station, he says. "But other than that, for the rest of the community, it’s all straight roads and not much of a detour," says Fuller. Eadie says she’s concerned about fire danger as well as medical emergencies. "I guess it helps our drought situation doesn’t look as bad as it was," says Eadie. "But there still is a lot of concern, especially for (people) trying to get out." Fuller says he is aware of the situation — and that the county is saving some much-needed funds. "I feel the people are definitely safe," says Fuller. "And I told Mike (Kuntz) to put the $120,000 into the Covered Bridge fund." This project is the second of three scheduled bridge replacements in a $7 million series of projects. The first of the three bridges to be replaced was in Rogue River on West Main Street. The new bridge cost $2.29 million. The last of the three bridges will be another Wimer-area bridge, also on East Evans Creek Road, at milepost 13.25 about halfway between Wimer and Sams Valley. The least expensive of the bridges, the replacement is estimated at $1.8 million. Funding for comes from the Oregon Transportation Act of 2003. Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s