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Ramped
Up A proposed full freeway interchange at I-5 and Franklin Boulevard could cost $120 million and have a big impact on surrounding neighborhoods and natural areas as well as downtown redevelopment. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) plans to bring concept sketches of connecting I-5 and Franklin to county and city governments this month to get input on whether and how to move the project forward. Right now Franklin connects to I-5 from and to the south but not north. In this tentative, scoping phase "what ODOT is going to be looking for is a thumbs up or thumbs down," said Lisa Gardner, a senior transportation planner with the city of Eugene.
Neighborhoods surrounding the proposed interchange are concerned about traffic and noise impacts, and the project could damage the Willamette River and parkland. But supporters say if done right, the full new interchange could relieve pressure for other, more damaging river crossings, while helping to fight urban sprawl by spurring redevelopment of downtown Eugene and Springfield and Glenwood. The Laurel Hill Valley neighborhood of east Eugene could have the greatest direct impact. Some of ODOT's initial concept sketches for the interchange show an on-ramp adjacent to or through existing houses and severing the neighborhood's connection to Franklin Boulevard. Such a configuration could increase noise, light and exhaust pollution in the neighborhood, increase neighborhood traffic and force long drives over Hendrick's Hill or though Glenwood to reach the rest of Eugene. "Having an on-ramp in your front yard doesn't sound like a great fun thing," says Daniel Spitzer, 29, who rents a house near the freeway. Spitzer usually bikes and opposes the interchange idea. Evan Hughes lives on Riverview Street and said he'd also oppose the project for it's noise, light and traffic impact. But Chris Stevens, who lives in a house adjacent to a possible proposed ramp, said he'd be willing to sell his house to ODOT. The neighborhood already has problems with speeding traffic and odors from the county's garbage transfer station across the freeway in Glenwood. "You already get the lovely smell of the dump six to eight times a year." Jan Wostmann, co-chair of the Laurel Hill Neighborhood Association, said the valley southeast of I-5 currently has a lot of trouble with freeway noise, and the elevated ramps would only make the problem a lot worse. He said cutting off the Franklin access "would have a lot of opposition" from the neighborhood. "I hope they will keep the neighborhood involved," Wostmann said. "I'd like to see them come talk to us." On the other side of the hill, the Fairmont neighborhood also could have a lot at stake in the proposed interchange. Fairmont neighbors have already organized to complain of severe traffic problems in their neighborhood with cars speeding through residential areas to get to Franklin. The interchange "is likely to push a huge volume of traffic onto Franklin" which might increase people taking shortcuts through the neighborhood, said Allen Lowe, a city transportation planner. In past years, city staff said that computer modeling of a new interchange showed increased neighborhood traffic from shortcutting. But more recent modeling of the impact hasn't yet been done, ODOT planner Tom Boyatt said. "I just don't know." Given the already existing traffic problems, the interchange "is ill considered," said David Sonnichsen, who's heading a Fairmont neighborhood association subcommittee focused on the interchange's traffic impact. Lowe said the city is already examining ways to use traffic calming to reduce the impact on the neighborhood from plans for more dense, nodal redevelopment along Franklin. The node concept was for a more pedestrian-friendly area. But it's already hard to cross Franklin, and with all the traffic from a new interchange, "it certainly makes it harder." The project would also have an environmental impact on the Willamette River and parkland. Several possible design concepts include on and off ramps that would stretch across the Willamette as separate bridges. One would cut just a few feet away from a bike bridge leading to Alton Baker Park. On the south side, the ramps would cut through trees and riparian vegetation and on the north land in a heavily forested, natural area of the park. "I just don't think that three bridges with all the pilings to support that would be a very attractive prospect," said Sonnichsen, who has also served on the East Alton Baker Park Planning Committee. All the pilings could affect fish in the river and boating, he said. "My main concern is what it might do to the river and the parkland too," said City Councilor Betty Taylor. Boyatt said ODOT could take care to protect the river during construction and mitigate the visual impact with a better design. Some of ODOT's initial sketches of options keep the ramps adjacent to the planned new permanent I-5 bridge.
Downtown Boost But despite the neighborhood and environmental concerns, supporters of the idea say it could be a boost for Eugene and Springfield downtowns, if done right. The idea originally gained currency a decade ago as an alternative to a wide freeway-like Ferry Street Bridge and as a central city alternative to the sprawl-inducing I-5 interchange at Gateway Mall. Jerry Diethelm, a UO landscape architecture professor and consultant, said he originally proposed the idea in 1994. The interchange could serve to reinvigorate downtown Eugene and Springfield and Glenwood and provide a "spectacular" riverside entrance to the two cities, he said. While it's unfortunate that local transportation is so freeway dependent, it's a reality, said Diethelm. The easy freeway access would spur much needed redevelopment in Glenwood and "drive all that industrial stuff right off of the river," Diethelm said. As a bonus, the ramps could force the county dump transfer station to move. Glenwood is now a leading candidate for McKenzie-Willamette's new hospital, and the interchange could provide important freeway access for the facility, he added. The Franklin interchange would also have the advantage of taking pressure off the Ferry Street Bridge, Diethelm said. Using an existing bridge to spread river crossing traffic would be better than past proposals to build new, expensive and damaging bridges through Alton Baker Park or the River Road neighborhood, according to Diethelm. The traffic impact on the Fairmont neighborhood would be limited as most people would stay on Franklin, he argued. ODOT's preliminary analysis of the project lists interchange benefits as including slightly reduced traffic on Ferry Street Bridge, increased accessibility to both downtowns and the UO and proposed basketball arena, and increased redevelopment in Glenwood and along Franklin. After the public vote on the Ferry Street freeway concept failed and talk of bridges through parkland or the River Road neighborhood met stiff opposition, former Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey took up the idea of a Franklin interchange. Before he left office last year, he helped persuade ODOT to take a look at an interchange as part of its planning for a I-5 replacement bridge over the Willamette. "Interstate access at Franklin would create Eugene's first true front door to welcome visitors," Torrey said in a press release. Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken agrees that the interchange "would be a great opening corridor into Eugene and Springfield." Hop off the interstate and "you'd be right there," he said. Leiken said property owners in Glenwood and downtown Springfield have reacted positively to the redevelopment potential it would bring. Leiken said the idea is also supported by the UO, which has talked of building a new basketball arena along Franklin and has bought land along the boulevard. UO architect Chris Ramey did not return calls requesting comment. "There's a lot of positive reaction going on, for the most part," Leiken said.
Doubts But questions about the project remain. "What would be the purpose?" asks Rob Zako, a local transportation staffer with the environmental group 1000 Friends of Oregon. Zako said officials should consider the larger picture and examine whether there may be better ways to help downtown with improved transportation. He notes the project was originally proposed as a money-saving "piggy back" onto ODOT's plans for a new bridge. But now it's clear that the project would be a separate project with the ramps not tying directly to the bridge. "It's actually a discreet project," said Eugene transportation planner Gardner. The height of the bridge makes it unlikely for freeway ramps to connect directly to the structure. They will likely instead be built as separate bridges across the river or ramps connecting over land, she said. ODOT also is "not willing to slow down the bridge replacement project" to accommodate the interchange, Gardner said. Boyatt agreed that the ramps are a separate project, but he said ODOT is committed to designing the bridge so as not to preclude the option of an interchange.
The interchange wouldn't help reduce traffic on Ferry Street Bridge because it's too far away, Wostmann said. Previous city staffers have also expressed doubts about that argument. Sonnichsen also said the freeway interchange with it's "thicket of concrete pillars" in the river would provide an ugly, not attractive entrance to the cities. Councilor Taylor said she wonders about the argument that the interchange will bring more people downtown. "I don't see how," she said. "I see it more as helping people to bypass downtown." Boyatt said ODOT hasn't done computer modeling on the question of whether the interchange will act to reduce urban sprawl and driving. "It's really hard to project." A Franklin interchange could have the effect of subsidizing sprawl and increased car use if people use it to commute from outlying communities to downtown jobs, Zako said. Also, relying on interstates for local travel is usually very expensive since they're designed for high-speed, long-distance travel, Zako said. If I-5 clogs up with local traffic, there will be pressure to widen the road or build a bypass for through traffic, he said. But Bettman said if the neighborhood and environmental impacts can be mitigated, the interchange "would be a sensible project." Right now ODOT's big projects ring the outside of the city "investing in sprawl." This project "brings that investment back into the urban core" by building an interchange in the center of the metro area that would boost downtown and reduce sprawl and driving, Bettman said. Diethelm said the interchange can't be the usual concrete "ODOT special." The interchange "needs to be done right" with a graceful design, he said. "If you do it badly, it will be a bad idea."
Hurdles Even if it overcomes the political hurdles, the interchange still faces big engineering and funding challenges. The proposed site for the interchange is hemmed in by the rock wall of Judkins Point, neighborhoods, a second nearby interchange and the river. "If it had been an easy project it would have been applied to the original design, and it wasn't," Sonnichsen said. The lack of space could be an advantage, however, as it could prevent some of the sprawling, big-box development that occurs at other, more suburban interchanges, supporters say. "It is a challenging site," admits ODOT's Boyatt. But, "with enough money and support anything is doable." Just how to come up with the money for the project remains unclear. Boyatt said very contingent estimates run from $40 million to $120 million, depending on whether a full interchange is built and where. Wostmann said that seems like a lot to spend for an interchange that would save only a few minutes drive to the existing half-interchange at Glenwood Boulevard. With the region already struggling to fund the $150 million I-5 Beltline interchange and the $169 million West Eugene Parkway, "there's just not enough money," Zako said. But Leiken said if the controversial parkway isn't built, I-5 Franklin "would probably move up" the list of priority projects for funding. Opponents of a Franklin Interchange suggest that a better option would be to make the nearby half interchange at Glenwood Boulevard a full interchange instead. "That actually makes more sense," said Wostmann. A hill near the Glenwood interchange would help reduce noise substantially, Wostmann said, and the location would better serve an area of the neighborhood quickly growing with new homes. "It's bound to be a lot cheaper and more preferable than trying to tie ramps onto Franklin Boulevard," Sonnichsen agreed. ODOT's sketches do include a Glenwood Boulevard interchange option. Glenwood Boulevard is farther away and would have less benefit to the downtowns, Diethelm said, but it could be an alternative if the impact at Franklin is too great. At this early, tentative stage, ODOT's Boyatt said citizens and elected officials can have a lot of impact on how the interchange is built or whether it's built at all. "Right now its really not a proposal as much as an idea," he said. Any interchange project will likely need the support of the county and Eugene and Springfield local governments and have to go through years of local and federal planning processes before it gets a green light. "There's so many uncertainties," Boyatt said. But local officials may need much more information on costs, environmental and neighborhood impacts before they're willing to sign off on the project. "I don't think I know enough," Taylor said. One thing is clear. "It's going to be a big deal," said Wostmann of the Laurel Hill Valley. "We'll have to keep our eyes on it." |
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