ABOUNDS IN ASHLAND The group found inspiration in design details from the rooftop of the 1925 Mark Antony Hotel (operating today as the Ashland Springs Hotel). Tenfoot tall concrete pylons at the ends of the bridges are topped by a pointed chevron design also found on the hotel’s parapets. The shape also is featured on the supports for the light poles. The pedestrian fencing with a rust-colored powder coating features a central arch design that can be seen on the hotel’s rooftop facade. In another nod to downtown Ashland, the light poles on the bridge will provide supports for banners. The light fixtures will be dark-sky compliant to minimize any light pollution at night.
The bridges at exit 14 and exit 19 will be painted a light tan color to match their natural surroundings. New landscaping will be added, too. Oregon Transportation Investment Act Funding for both of these projects is provided by the Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA). The agency’s $1.3 billion OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program is repairing and replacing hundreds of bridges across the state to ensure the unrestricted movement of freight and spur economic growth. Of the 365 bridges in the program, 19 are currently under construction and another 251 have been completed and open to traffic.
NEIL CREEK BRIDGE: BIGGER, WIDER, BETTER If you packed up your kids for a summer camping trip or just spent a day on Emigrant Lake, you drove through the Neil Creek Bridge replacement project on Greensprings Highway (Oregon 66) north of the lake. The new bridge replaces a narrow structure originally built in the 1920s. The new bridge will be 44 feet wide – nearly twice the width of the original structure – with two travel lanes and wide shoulders to meet today’s standards. Prime contractor Legacy Construction (of Salem, Oregon) is building the bridge one half at a time. This staging requires moving traffic through the work zone in a single lane of traffic. Flaggers and a temporary signal are being used to direct traffic through the work zone. The contractor placed beams for the first half of the bridge in early August. “This location is a choke point on the roadway, which makes tight quarters for workers,” said ODOT Public Service Representative Dennis Steers. “The work must be completed in one season because we face an in-water work period that runs from June 15 to Sept. 15.” The in-water work period is designed to protect sensitive fish habitat. odotmovingahead.com
September 2, 2011
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