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Let public weigh in on proposed I-5 interchange

GUEST VIEWPOINT
By David Sonnichsen

Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken made a bold statement in September during a presentation on proposed freeway interchange additions for Interstate 5 at Franklin Boulevard:

“I frankly don’t care what the ramps look like as long as you build them,” Leiken said to his fellow members of the intergovernmental Metropolitan Policy Committee. “This is a golden opportunity,” he added, urging that a final design be quickly presented to Rep. Peter DeFazio and Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, who would be told, “Here it is, find the money.'’

This expression of wishful free association may demonstrate how some elected officials want things to work, but the reality is that the people who elect the officials get a chance to participate, too. It’s called public involvement.

In regard to any changes in the current relationship of I-5 to Franklin Boulevard, the process is just getting under way. Let’s not jump the gun.

Of the eight preliminary design concepts presented, five would have major impacts on both sides of the Willamette River, and six intrude into the Willamette itself.

But one design concept directs its focus away from the river and toward a more practical solution: upgrading the Glenwood interchange.

One way or another, the existing Glenwood configuration is history. In many of the design concepts, I-5/Glenwood would have to be eliminated. There is insufficient distance between an expanded I-5/Franklin and I-5/Glenwood to meet federal highway interchange separation standards.

Concentrating on a redesign of I-5/Glenwood accomplishes two goals simultaneously:

* Improved access to and from Eugene and Springfield. An updated Glenwood interchange can achieve results comparable to ramps at I-5/Franklin, without impacts to the Willamette River Greenway, and with far less cost.

* Freeway noise reduction for Laurel Hill valley residents, which could be built into an I-5/Glenwood redesign. Reverberating freeway whine funneling into the Laurel Hill valley from the Glenwood curve has long been an issue the Laurel Hill citizens association has wanted the Oregon Department of Transportation to address.

Procedurally, ODOT must consider the proposed Franklin ramps separately from the permanent Willamette River bridge that it plans to build in the next eight to 10 years, because there is money budgeted for the bridge, but no funding source for ramps.

ODOT says it wants to design a “signature bridge” - one with character and grace, that complements its surroundings. Trying to graft two tentacle-like ramps stretching across the river from the north end of the bridge would result in an ugly structure. It is discouraging to hear Leiken express a lack of concern for the visual impact of the proposed ramps.

Brian Ray, the Kittleson and Associates engineer who produced the design concepts for ODOT, acknowledges that the ramps amount to separate bridges. “So it’s not just one bridge, but actually three bridges” that would need to be built, he told the Metropolitan Policy Committee in September. Two additional ramps would produce a concrete thicket beneath them, compromising the navigability, aquatic habitat and view of the river.

The north bank of the river is parkland. A federal highway rule prohibits using federal funds for construction through parkland unless other options are not possible. As we have seen, ODOT has already published such an option: an upgraded Glenwood interchange [now called Category 4].

When voters get an opportunity to question ODOT representatives, they’ll want to know about comparative cost estimates, and which other road improvements might have to be canceled if funds are shifted. They’ll discover that building over a river is incredibly expensive.
They may ask, Which institutions and property owners stand to benefit? They’ll also question the need for this project, as the Fairmount Neighborhood Association has done in a motion to the Eugene mayor and City Council.

An amendment to TransPlan, our regional transportation priority list, would have to be approved by Eugene, Springfield and Lane County in order to proceed beyond the present “study” phase. A lot of water will pass under the bridge before a final decision is in sight. Let’s not jump the gun, or land in the river.

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David Sonnichsen is treasurer of the Fairmount Neighborhood Association, and chairman of a subcommittee studying the proposed I-5/Franklin interchange.

At the quarterly Fairmount Neighbors Association meeting on December 14, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Senior Planner Tom Boyatt stated: “There is no particular transportation problem that this project would solve.”

ODOT held three public open houses, December 1, 5 and 8 to display proposed interchange construction concepts at I-5/Franklin Blvd. and/or I-5/Glenwood Blvd.

The design concepts may be viewed at:

ftp://ftp.odot.state.or.us/outgoing/I-5%20Franklin%20Proposed/
(call ODOT at 744-8080 if the site is not available)

ODOT and your city government representatives need to hear from you about whether an interchange expansion just south of the Willamette River ought to be added to our regional transportation priority list. This is your chance to help shape the future of our community.

Can any interchange expansion which includes ramps crossing the Willamette River — and the Whilamut Natural Area parkland on the north bank — be environmentally and fiscally justified?

The heavily-forested riparian woodlands to the east of the I-5 corridor have never been logged, and are a rare example of the way much of the area appeared before Euro-American settlement. A northbound ramp crossing the Willamette from Franklin Blvd. would cut
into this forest, the site of a heron rookery. A picket fence of pillars would be erected in the Willamette to support the two ramps — in addition to those needed for the new bridge in between — adversely affecting both the navigability and viewscape of the river.

In addition, the increased traffic from a southbound off-ramp onto Franklin Boulevard near Judkins Point would clog the roadway, and produce bursts of noise from airbraking big-rig trucks that would reverberate throughout the Fairmount Neighborhood.

If an expanded interchange system is built at I-5/Franklin, the nearby Glenwood interchange would have to close, because there is insufficient space between the two interchanges to meet federal highway separation standards.

Avoiding impacts on the river by updating the I-5/Glenwood interchange with modern design and intelligent signage is a better alternative than ramps at I-5/Franklin, and at far less cost.

ODOT quotes these cost ranges:

full interchange at Franklin $80 — $120 million
partial interchange at Franklin $75 — $110 million
reconstructed Glenwood interchange $35 — $50 million

The cost of replacing the I-5/Willamette bridge is estimated by ODOT to be $58 million; the proposed full interchange would cost more than twice as much as the new bridge itself! While funds for the replacement bridge have been budgeted, there is no funding source for the proposed ramp system. Other needed upgrades, such as the dangerous Beltline - Delta Highway interchange, might be given a lower priority.

David Sonnichsen
Fairmount Neighborhood resident
Eugene

The Register Guard editorial of November 29th was correct about one thing: it is easy to see why a Franklin/ I-5 interchange was not included in the original construction of the I-5 bridge. It was a bad idea then, and it is a terrible idea today.

Proponents of this project give the impression that adding interchange ramps over the Willamette River would be a simple “add-on” that we could easily do since we are building a new bridge anyway. This is simply untrue. Any interchange project would be completely independent and initiated separately from the construction of the I-5 bridge. It would be a vastly complicated and expensive job—ODOT’s own estimates put the public cost at well over 200 million dollars.

Aside from the outrageous cost, a Franklin/I-5 interchange would come with many other drawbacks including:

* Irreparable environmental and aesthetic damage to the Willamette River natural area

* Excessive traffic congestion on Franklin which would likely lead to its failure as a main thoroughfare

* The negation of the city’s own cherished desire to transform the Walnut/Franklin area into a quaint and charming gateway to the city (Who will want to live, work, dine and stroll at the mouth of a freeway off-ramp?)

I urge everyone to stop by the Eugene Library on December 8th, between 4 and 8 pm to see the interchange proposals and submit comments. The city will use these comments in deciding whether to proceed with this ill-conceived venture.

Darcy Vanderlan
Eugene