Bear Creek Greenway
Reconstruction Work
Improves Seven Miles of the Multi-use Trail jurisdictions that manage the trail, provided the approximately $170,000 local match for the $1.7 million project, which included grants from the Readiness, Federal Flexible Funds, Discretionary Transportation Enhancements and ODOT’s Bicycle/Pedestrian programs. According to Stanke, several various repair plots were installed on a short stretch of trail with extensive root damage just north of Phoenix as part of another grant project. Short sections of porous concrete, decomposed granite, rubber pavers, and root barrier are being analyzed and will be monitored, with the goal of determining which solutions are most cost effective, amenable to trail users, and resilient to root damage.
Seven miles of smoother walking, biking, and skating on the Bear Creek Greenway are the result of reconstruction work last summer. Repairs focused on the oldest sections of the multi-use trail, where the trail runs through Medford and between Ashland and Talent. These sections of the trail, originally built in the 1970s and early 1980s, had significant root damage and pavement deterioration.
“We’ll use what we find from the root project to determine how to best complete future spot fixes on the trail where roots are heaving the pavement,” says Stanke. The $62,000 root repair project was funded with a grant from the State Parks Recreational Trails Program, with a local contribution of $13,000 from Bear Creek Greenway Joint Powers Committee funds.
“ The reconstruction
Full depth reclamation, a process where the deteriorating pavement is ground up and mixed with powdered cement and used as base for the new asphalt, was used to repair most of these sections. Reinforced concrete was used to repair another section of trail north of Ashland that was plagued with longitudinal cracking. “The reconstruction project is a gamechanger for the Bear Creek Greenway,” said Jackson County Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Jenna Stanke. “Over one third of the trail was rough, narrow, or both, and now it’s new, wide, smooth pavement. That’s really a huge improvement.” The Bear Creek Greenway Joint Powers Committee, a consortium of the
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project is a gamechanger for the Bear Creek Greenway.
”
— Jackson County Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Jenna Stanke
The next project involves installing informational signage, including mile markers, map kiosks, and directional and location signs along the trail. This work is scheduled for this winter and next spring, thanks to another Recreational Trails Program grant. Work on the trail will also include spot repairs for root heaves as well as pavement maintenance such as sealing the asphalt and repairing shoulder rock.
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