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Project will cut connection Part of the bicycle path and the old bridges along the former lumber mill road will be wiped out by the new I-5 interchange By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune Bicyclists and walkers who find a quiet retreat from traffic on the old Medco logging road should enjoy it while they can. The favorite pedestrian and bicycle path along the old lumber mill road will be rebuilt for vehicle use when the Oregon Department of Transportation begins the $36 million north Medford interchange project next year. Two-mile stretch will be added to greenway The Rogue Valley's 18-mile bicycle and walking path that winds along Bear Creek through five cities will get more pavement soon. A two-mile stretch will be added to the Bear Creek Greenway, from Barnett and South Stage roads. The $2 million project will begin next year. "Once we build the two-mile extension of the Medford trail, there will be just four more miles to close the gap, from South Stage Road to Talent," said Karen Smith, special project manager for Jackson County and the Bear Creek Greenway foundation. Jackson County and the city of Medford will work together to design and build a bridge shared by path users and vehicles, Smith said. The City Council recently agreed to spend $58,440 for its portion of the design work. The new greenway stretch will wind through Medford's proposed sports park, situated between Interstate 5 and Highway 99 near the old Starlite Theater. "It will be a much nicer route for the trail to go through Medford's new park than it would be to squeeze by the freeway like we've had to do in other stretches," Smith said. People can use the path to get to the softball, baseball and soccer fields planned at the sports park. "Kids and adults will be able to ride from downtown Medford out there on bikes or walk instead of getting in a vehicle and driving there," she said. "When the state bought the Medco Haul Road, it was understood that it was going to be temporary use for bicycles and pedestrians out to the Costco shopping center," said Karen Smith, special project manager for Jackson County and the Bear Creek Greenway Foundation. "People have become very attached to it, but it was never intended to be a permanent facility," Smith said. The state, Jackson County and the city of Medford put their money together to blacktop the logging road so bicyclists and pedestrians could use it until the state needed it for a new freeway interchange. Because that day has nearly arrived, riders who use the relatively flat path should enjoy it while they can. From the Bear Creek Greenway, cyclists pedal over bridges crossing Interstate 5 and Biddle Road before reaching a stretch that skirts the Medford airport. "A lot of people like to go out and look at the planes take off and land," said Medford cyclist Bob Grant. "I see a lot of families out there with little children enjoying the path. The path provides a convenient way for bicycles and pedestrians to get to Wal-mart or Costco and avoid Highway 62, said Grant, who wrote a letter asking the state to remember bicycles when they build the new interchange. "We need to encourage alternative forms of transportation," said Grant, who serves on the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Portland. "While I might be comfortable going out and encountering automobile traffic, it's not going to encourage the weekend cyclist to do that." ODOT plans to bring the road down to street level and remove the one-way bridges that Medford Corp. built to get logging trucks over Biddle Road and I-5, said project manager Frank Stevens. Part of the old logging road will become the jug-handle, or off-ramp connecting Biddle Road to Crater Lake Highway. Part of the road will also become a back entrance to Witham Truck Center, Western Tool and possibly, Crater Lake Ford. And the state plans to create a connection so folks on wheels or foot can still use the airport portion of the old logging road, Stevens said. "There will be bike lanes on Biddle Road to tie to the old Medco Haul Road," Stevens said. "Right now, the bicycle path comes out by Crater Lake Ford. The new path will go behind Crater Lake Ford and come out at the new intersection." The new intersection will replace the signal at Hilton and Biddle roads and will be about 300 feet closer to the car dealership. "(Bicyclists) can go either direction on Biddle or cross it and pick up the temporary bike route that goes to Costco," Stevens said. Someday, that stretch could be turned into a frontage road along Highway 62. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.