The governor’s visit today will highlight the state’s search for shipping alternatives to ease the I-5 load

David Summers isn’t an Oregonian, but as an Interstate 5 driver he can’t help but notice the increase in truck traffic in recent years.

"It’s a problem," said Summers, gassing up at Petro Stopping Center while on vacation with his family from Tulare, Calif.

Summers’ choice for a fill-up is one of the Rogue Valley’s most popular truck stops on the interstate highway. Those trucks, carrying everything from linens to logs, are part of a booming business, but also part of the growing congestion on I-5.

Summers said he knows it’s a matter of economics.

"Right now there’s no other alternate way of doing it any cheaper than they’re doing it," he said.

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The state of Oregon hopes to change that, or at least put a dent in the truck traffic, through a state effort to fund projects for rail, seaports, airports and public transit.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski will be at the Medford airport today as the state launches ConnectOregon, an initiative approved by the Legislature which will put $100 million from lottery bonds into air, rail, marine and transit alternatives for commercial shipping.

Trucker Ryan Jones, also filling up at Petro, said it sounds to him like the bill will help everybody.

"If it makes it cheaper, it’d probably help out the economy," said Jones, who was delivering sand from Vancouver, Wash., to the under-construction Rogue Valley Manor golf course off North Phoenix Road.

The governor will speak at noon today in the airport’s baggage claim area. ConnectOregon, created by Senate Bill 71, is a lottery bond-based initiative designed to improve connections between the highway system and other modes of transportation to provide alternatives for moving freight.

Oregon Transportation Commission Chairman Stuart Foster also will speak at today’s ceremony in Medford.

Sally Ridenour, public information representative for the Oregon Department of Transportation in Salem, said Oregon’s highways have seen a steady increase in commercial vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds.

ODOT statistics show an increase in truck traffic from 1.693 billion miles traveled in 1999 to 1.801 billion miles traveled in Oregon. That’s a 108 million mile increase in commercial vehicle traffic over five years, the equivalent of 1,076 additional truck trips daily from Medford to Portland.

Oregon is not alone in seeing a truck crunch on the highways.

"There is a trend over the last several years nationwide as well as statewide," said Ridenour.

Mike Quilty, the region’s metropolitan planning organization chairman, said there are probably many local projects that could benefit from the funds.

One possibility is developing "multi-modal" transfer stations, where goods could be brought in on truck then shipped out by rail, he said.

"The whole bill is concerned with moving goods and freight," he said. "It’d help slow the growth of semis on the freeway."

The projects that are selected would not be those funded through state highway funds.

"It’s really aimed at looking at special projects," said Mike Burrill, chairman of the Aviation Board for the state of Oregon.

That could include projects like upgrading connecting roads between highways and airports, fixing tunnels or upgrading the railway. Due to their labor-intensive nature, Burrill said, the projects will not only help move freight but also help create jobs.

Burrill said the bill came out of the Oregon Business Plan, which was crafted by business and political leaders to present a unified economic agenda to the Legislature.

Bern Case, Medford airport manager, said a portion of the funding will go toward aviation, and the Medford airport will fight for its share. But, he said, it’s too soon to say what airport projects would be proposed.

Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail mlanders@mailtribune.com.