PHOENIX — Hailed as the least expensive and least invasive, a French-inspired crossing diamond has been chosen as the preferred design for the new Fern Valley Interchange.

Also called a diverging-diamond, the interchange will direct drivers over Interstate 5 on the left side of the road, allowing easy left turns onto the interstate. Under this design, no businesses will need to be demolished, state officials said.

Oregon Department of Transportation officials and Phoenix citizens and business owners chose the design this week in meetings held Wednesday and Thursday.

By mid-afternoon Thursday, some two dozen business owners and citizens were celebrating at Angelo's Pizza downtown.

"We're so happy, we're all celebrating!" said Tani Wouters, spokesperson for the Phoenix Association of Business and Property Owners.

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"We sure didn't think we'd get to this point. It was amazing to watch the process this past year and then today," she said. "ODOT did the right thing. They did what the community wanted and what was best for the community."

Plans for the $40 million rebuild of the Phoenix exit began more than three years ago and was set to move forward last year as a handful of designs were recommended for further review.

Business owners cried foul, however, over potentially devastating impacts to businesses along Highway 99. ODOT officials agreed to allow additional community involvement and consider other designs.

Jerry Marmon, ODOT environmental project manager, said officials were relieved to have found a design that various stakeholders could live with.

"The process has been a long one, but we're at a good point right now and we've got a good consensus between the community, ODOT and the city," he said.

Longtime citizens advisory committee member Dack Doggett said he was "thrilled" with the new alternative.

"This is a huge step, in my opinion, for the state of Oregon in having ODOT get together with a community before they make big decisions like this," Doggett said.

"ODOT really listened to the community and there's going to be the least amount of impact ... at this point for the town of Phoenix, where there could have been total devastation to several homes and businesses."

Public works director Jim Wear concurred.

"This (crossing diamond) will fit kind of the existing footprint so it's a good fit for the city," he said.

Over the next six months, Marmon said the design would be refined and assessed for impacts to the community. At present, the project is set to begin construction in 2008.

For details on how the crossing diamond interchange works, visit www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION3. Click on "Fern Valley Interchange" to the left. Then scroll down to "Crossing Diamond Interchange simulation" and click on it.

Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.