Transportation System Plan 2018-2038

By 2023, even with completion of the North and South Medford Interchange projects, it is anticipated that V/C standards will be exceeded at seven intersections on the state highway system in the Medford UGB. Most of these intersections are located along Highway 62 and include the four lo cations identified above plus the intersection of Highway 62 with Highway 99/Hi ghway 238. Other intersections that are expected to experience congestion levels in excess of the ODOT standard include: Highway 99 at South Stage Road and Highway 238 at Sage Road. In addition to analy sis conducted as part of the City’s Level of Service Study , several other significant transportation system analy ses have recently been co mpleted in the Medford UGB to address existing and future operational deficiencies on the state highway system . These analy ses include the following. South Medford Interchange The South Medford I-5 interchange study was conduc ted to address existing and anticipated future congestion problem s at the I-5/Barnett Road interchange . Currently , traffic backs on Barnett Road in the vicinity of the interchange during a large portion of a typical weekday . Additionally , traffic back-ups have been experienced on freeway ram ps im pacti ng the freeway mainline. A Draft Environm ental Statem ent has been prepared for a new interchange south of the existing Barnett Road location and a preferred alternative has been selected. Preparation of a Final Environm ental Im pact Statem ent will be completed during the spring of 2003 with construction e xpected to begin by 2006. This project has been included as a Tier 1 (financially -constrained) project in the 2002 Regional Transportation Plan and is included in the draft 2004-2007 State Transportation Im provem ent Program . Funding for this project comes from ODOT general revenues, City of Medfor d contributions and a recent $14 m illion allocation from the Oregon Transportation Investm ent Act program (OTIA) which is financed through the sale of revenue bonds. When OTIA funding was m ade available for the South Medford interchange project, the City of Medford signed an agreem ent with the Oregon Transporta tion Com mission that included two key provisions pertaining to future land use planning activities in th e vicinity of the new interchange. These com ponents included the requirem ent that ODOT prepare access m anagem ent and interchange plans for the project. These plans m ust be adopted by the City of Medford a nd can be incorporated into a future update of the City’s Transportation System Plan . The m anagem ent plans will “protect the function of (the) interchange to provide safe and efficient operations between connecting roadways and to minimize the need for major improvemen ts of existing interchanges”8. The second requirem ent is for the City to develop land use and subdivision ordinances that address access control m easures and signal spacing standards consistent with the functional classificati on of roads, and standards to protect the future operation of state highway s. Progress towards developm ent of these ordinances m ust be m ade prior to contracting for interchange construction. Draf t access m anagem ent and signal spacing standards are currently under developm ent by the City ’s Public Work s Departm ent. In addition to the land use-related requirem ents, the OTC will also require that the City assum e responsibility for Barnett Road at the location of the existing interchange. Highw ay 62 Corridor Solutions Study The Highway 62 Corridor Solutions, North Medfor d interchange study to address the increasing congestion and safety issues being experienced along Highway 62 from the I-5 interchange area northward to White City . Since the fall of 2000, the project has been focused prim arily on the I- 5/Highway 62 interchange area as further im provem ents to the north could not be accom plished within the region’ s “financially -constrained” im provem ent program . An Environm ental Assessm ent has been prepared to evaluate im provem ent alternatives at the interchange and a preferred “Build” alternative has been identified. The central com ponent of th e Build Alternative includes a new I-5/Highway 62 8 Staff Report to Oregon Transport ation Com mission on OTIA project s, ODOT, page 3. Medford Transportation Syst em Plan 5-13 Street Plan