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‘Big Y’ becomes ‘Big X’
Night work: Crews
are working at night along North Pacific Highway near the Big Y in order to
lessen the effects on traffic at the congested intersection, state officials
say. This week, crews from Southern By Jessica Smith The days of the "Big Y" are numbered. Considered one of the area’s most confusing and congested traffic bottlenecks, work is underway to overhaul the Y-shaped intersection near the Rogue Valley Mall as part of a larger project to build a new route for the Jacksonville Highway through northwest Medford. In late October, motorists and residents will notice significant changes on the north side of the Big Y, where three businesses will be demolished and where road construction will close down some lanes of traffic. "What we’re trying to do is expedite traffic going downtown," explained Bill Boyett, a state transportation department spokesman. The project is "an opportunity to take congestion away," he added. The $16 million road-building project will turn the Big Y into a big X — a more traditional four-way intersection. It’s expected to relieve congestion at the intersection of Table Rock Road, Crater Lake Highway and North Pacific Highway crossing. And it’s supposed to give motorists on the north and west fringes of the city better access to Medford’s commercial center, even as traffic to and from Jacksonville is routed away from downtown. Construction crews have been working since May to install storm drains and other underground utility lines along existing roads and new routes. The new Jacksonville Highway will connect Crater Lake Highway at the north freeway interchange with Sage Road at Rossanley Drive. Another new road will connect West Table Rock Road to Central Avenue. The new roads are expected to open in late 2001. In November, crews also will widen Rossanley Drive, which will affect drivers and residents on road such as Ross Lane. Also this fall, workers will widen West Table Rock Road and North Pacific Highway between Table Rock and Crater Lake Highway. Prep work on Crater Lake Highway will have a big effect on the highway’s Burger King restaurant, Rogue Valley Exxon service station and car wash, which are all scheduled for demolition by Oct. 20. Burger King restaurant manager Robert Jackson said he’s letting customers know now that the hamburger giant is moving to a new building farther east on Crater Lake Highway near Delta Waters Road. The new restaurant opens Sept. 11, a day after the Big Y Burger King closes. "A lot of our regular customers already now we’ll be moving, mostly by word-of-mouth," Jackson said. "We’re hoping to get some of our old customer volume back with the move." Storm drain work on Crater Lake Highway has meant a bit less business for the restaurant, he added. Meanwhile, managers at Ray’s Food Place on North Pacific Highway said they’ll make customers aware of the effects road construction will have on access to the market. "I’m sure down the road the construction is going to impact us negatively," said Doug Nidiffer, Ray’s president. "People will have to get used to a little bit different traffic pattern, which I hope won’t be too inconvenient." While crews work on North Pacific Highway and West Table Rock Road, customer access will be diverted to the rear of the store, on Table Rock Road, Nidiffer said. Access to most businesses skirting the Big Y, including the Rogue Valley Mall, will be affected over the next year, according to Boyett. Recognizing the hardship to local businesses, ODOT has agreed to try to minimize the burden by staging road construction at night, leaving less traffic-stopping work for the daytime, Boyett said. "The secret to all this road building is that you stage it in such a way that it doesn’t stop traffic," he added. "We’re very sensitive to that issue." For the duration of the project, at least one road in each direction will be open to traffic, Boyett said. Roads will not be closed to accommodate work crews. In fact, in order to make sure construction doesn’t affect merchants and shoppers during the Christmas rush, work around the Rogue Valley Mall will be suspended in November. Construction will begin again after the New Year, Boyett said.
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