Transportation System Plan 2018-2038

As noted above, im provem ent projects have been developed for these two interchanges to address not only the congestion and safety problem s that are created in the vicinity of the interchanges but also to address the existing and projected im pacts on the I-5 m ainline. Other Street Improvement Needs 17-Project List and the Regional Transportation Plan In addition to the recent LOS and I-5 interchange ar ea studies, street im provem ent needs in the Medford UGB have been identified through several other m eans. One venue for project identification is the City ’s 17-project list. The intersection and roadway segment enhancem ent projects on this im provem ent program were previously identified by the city as pr iorities for the use of funds raised through a local street bond. These projects were chosen for bond f unding because they address critical locations in the city that are experiencing significant congestion or because they enhance overall traffic circulation and connectivity in the city . Another source of project identification is the Regional Transportation Plan . The RTP includes m any street projects in its “financially -constrained” Tier 1 project list. These projects were assum ed in the LOS Study to be in place during the next 20 y ears. R TP projects address both existing and anticipated future congestion and operational problem s, as well as the need for upgrading rural roads to city street standards when form erly rural areas becom e urbanized. The projects identified through both of these sources are included in the street sy stem improvem ents discussed later in this chapter. Bridge Deficiencies According to recent ODOT bridge inspection reports a nd as indicated in Table 3-3, there are currently seven bridges within the Medford UGB that are consider ed to be structurally deficient. Three of these bridges are owned and operated by the City of Medf ord and four are owned and operated by ODOT. The City’s structurally deficient bridges include Bear Creek overcrossings at 10th Street, McAndrews Road and Barnett Road overcrossing. ODOT’ s structurally deficient bridges include two I-5 crossings over Bear Creek (which are scheduled to be replaced in 2006), the Medford Viaduct (which was repaired during the spring of 2003), and the Highway 99 bridge over Crooked Creek (im provem ent scheduling not currently identified). The City of Medford anticipat es that weight-restrictions will be instituted on its deficient bridges until such tim e as funding can be secured to address the deficiency problem s. The Barnett Road bridge will be replaced as part of the South Medford Interchange project. Safety Needs Table 3-10 presents a list of the intersections under lo cal jurisdiction in the Medford UGB that currently experience a higher than average crash history . A prelim inary assessm ent of these locations has been conducted to indicate both predom inate cause(s) of crashes as well as potential solutions. Detailed analy sis of the crash locations has not been conduc ted for this TSP, and shoul d be conducted as part of project refinem ent planning or prelim inary engineering prior to im plem entation. It should be noted that some of these accident locations m ay be resolved by other pending roadway improvem ent projects including the Highway 62 Unit 1 im provem ents (for the intersection of the Highway 62/Biddle Road eastbound ram ps and Highway 62 at Poplar Drive) or as part of the South Medford interchange project (at the intersection of Barnett Road with the I-5 nort hbound off-ram p at Alba Street, and Barnett Road at Riverside Avenue). Potential safety -related im provem ents at each intersection are identified in Table 5-5. Medford Transportation Syst em Plan 5-15 Street Plan