Frequently Asked Questions

What’s this all about? (return to top)

A major highway construction project is currently under consideration by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Eugene and Springfield City Councils which, if pursued, will have a potentially profound impact on the local environment, quality of life, and property values in Laurel Hill and surrounding areas. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no public notices about this project.

Laurel Hill is the community most directly impacted by this potential project, so we wanted to try and get the word out to friends and neighbors as quickly as possible to let them know both A) what’s currently going on and B) what they can do to influence the decision making process if they so choose.

The vast majority of information on this site comes from email or links provided by Rich Hazel, co-chair of the Laurel Hill Valley Citizens’ Association. Thanks Rich! :)

Where Can I Learn More About This? (return to top)

The best place to start is probably with the reading materials hosted/linked on this site. These include:

Eugene Weekly Cover Story

Sketches of the various interchange concepts:

Cost, Constructability, and Environmental Issues:

What’s the bottom line for Laurel Hill?(return to top)

Worst-case: exhaust and heavy throttle acceleration and engine braking noise aimed directly into our neighborhood; visual pollution and potential environmental damage.

Additionally, some of the interchange plans call for severing access between Laurel Hill and Franklin Blvd. This means that residents would be forced to go over the hill, through the park and surrounding neighborhoods, just to get into Eugene or the University.

All of this is in exchange for very little effect on traffic patterns on Franklin (at any distance away from the proposed interchange), I-105, or the Ferry Street Bridge.

For additional details I am going to quote here at length from an email exchange with Rich Hazel, with his permission:

Other than the “Glenwood Only” option, all of the interchange concepts call for some additional river crossings for the ramps. The new bridge will be constructed 6-8 lanes wide (to allow for future growth; initially it will be striped as four lanes) but due to engineering and traffic model constraints, any Franklin interchange ramps to and from the north will require their own separate one or two lane bridges to cross the river on either side of the new bridge structure. Personally, I am concerned about the forest of concrete piers all of this work will create in the river. Also a problem is how this arrangement will add to traffic noise, especially in the north end of the Laurel Hill Valley.

Part of the rationale for the interchange is to serve expanded industrial activities in Glenwood. What this means is that heavily loaded interstate trucks will be exiting and entering I-5 at the Franklin interchange, using these new ramps as their acceleration and braking zones: the ramp ends would have traffic-light-controlled intersections at Franklin generally requiring full stops for traffic using them. Think heavy throttle acceleration and engine braking noise on these elevated bridge ramps, aimed directly into our neighborhood. I believe that if we MUST have a new interchange (and ODOT itself admits there is no real traffic problem requiring a “fix”), then it should be at the Glenwood interchange, where additional noise will be an issue mostly for the adjacent industrial and commercial areas.

What are the next steps in the process?(return to top)

The firm CH2M is preparing materials on behalf of ODOT for a presentation to the Eugene City Council on February 15th at noon. At the February 15 meeting, the Eugene City Council will be making a go/no-go decision on whether to continue to support planning of the interchange project.

The corresponding Springfield City Council meeting will be held February 27th at 5:30pm, with the ODOT presentation as the 3rd item on the agenda.

What Can I Do?(return to top)

There are a number of ways you can get involved and make sure the neighborhood’s voice is heard in the decision making process.

Additionally, if anyone has time:

  • We want to try and contact all of the members of the community who have a stake in this and might be unaware of what’s going on. To that end, we want to look at putting up some informational fliers in the area, and also try to contact as many out-of-area property owners (i.e. people who own homes which are currently rentals, etc.) as possible. If you have the time and inclination to help out with either of these tasks, please send me a quick note and let me know how to get in contact with you.

How Can I Keep Myself Updated Regarding This Project?(return to top)

I will be updating the news page as I collect additional information. You can check back there, or simply subscribe to be notified via email or RSS when updates are made. Please email me or leave a comment on the blog if you have any questions/concerns/input regarding this site.
Thanks!

(edit: changed Eugene City Council “Work Session” meeting date to Feb-15 based on information from Lisa Gardner, Senior Transportation Planner for the City of Eugene via Rich Hazel.)