The cities of Eugene and Springfield are considering a project that could change the way students get from Interstate 5 to the University.
The cities and the Oregon Department of Transportation are investigating the possibility of creating a new freeway interchange at Franklin Boulevard, placing exits and on-ramps closer to the University.
The interchange would create new connections to downtown Eugene and Springfield directly from I-5 and spur redevelopment around Franklin and Glenwood boulevards. The new connections would make it easier to reach the University from the north.
“It struck me as incredibly strange that there was an exit that was only halfway,” said Eugene City Councilor David Kelly, who represents the University area. “For travelers, there is no exit from I-5 that is to the heart of Eugene or Springfield.”
A new interchange would make it possible to get to the University from I-5 South without using Interstate 105 and would enable motorists to get on I-5 North from Franklin Boulevard.
The proposal grew out of another project: the replacement of the cracked I-5 bridge over the Willamette River. It is estimated to be complete by 2012.
With major plans already started on the bridge, former Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey and Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken approached ODOT in 2004 about a study on the construction of a new interchange.
ODOT is in phase two of its four-phase interchange study. The study looks at traffic impacts, engineering standards, environmental and community standards, and makes estimates about the planning process.
Phase two is designed to compile “enough technical study to facilitate community dialogue and allow elected officials to make decisions” on the interchange project, ODOT Senior Planner Tom Boyatt said.
Boyatt stressed that it is still too early in the project for definite plans.
“We need to be careful not to draw our conclusions too quickly and prejudice the process,” Boyatt said.
ODOT released a number of preliminary sketches of what the proposed interchange could look like at the Sept. 15 meeting of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Policy Committee.
The concepts place ramps either at the intersection of Franklin Boulevard and I-5, the intersection of Glenwood Boulevard and I-5, or at a combination of the two. But none of these sketches is an actual option – they are simply vehicles for public debate, Boyatt said.
There are concerns that a new interchange may adversely impact the Willamette River and Alton Baker Park.
“The biggest issues that need to be studied are if there will be a significant impact on Alton Baker Park or on the Willamette River,” Kelly said. “We don’t yet know enough to know the disadvantages.”
David Sonnichsen, head of the Fairmount Neighborhood Association’s subcommittee on the interchange, is concerned that a new interchange could increase the traffic and noise around Alton Baker Park.
“I’d like to minimize the impact to Alton Baker Park and Franklin Boulevard,” Sonnichsen said, “and instead focus (the interchange) on the Glenwood area.”
The neighborhood association plans to be “very thoroughly” involved in the public debate on the interchange, Sonnichsen said.
Sonnichsen was also concerned because the release of the sketches at the MPC meeting came with little public promotion of the meeting.
“This came out of the blue,” Sonnichsen said.
Despite these problems, Sonnichsen said he has good relations with ODOT on the bridge-replacement project.
ODOT has said that completing the permanent replacement for the cracked I-5 bridge is still its main priority, and ODOT is contributing $2.75 million to complete an environmental assessment for the project. The construction of the bridge is being funded by the Oregon Transportation Investment Act, passed by the 2003 Oregon Legislature.
In addition to the bridge, ODOT has pledged money for an environmental impact study on the interchange project, if it reaches that point. It is still too early in the process to have cost or completion estimates for the interchange project, Boyatt said.
The Eugene and Springfield city councils and the Lane County Board of Commissioners are scheduled to decide early next year whether to continue with the interchange project.
“If there is a ‘no’ next year, it’s pretty much dead,” Kelly said. “If there’s a ‘yes,’ it will just take it to the next level.”
There will be public meetings regarding the interchange on Nov. 9 at the County Board of Commissioners, Nov. 14 at the Eugene City Council meeting and Nov. 21 at the Springfield City Council meeting.

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