OK, here's a tough one for Smartypants Central: When is ODOT going to resurface Highway 140 between mileposts 16 and 40. The road is terrible, getting worse and won't heal itself.

— Steve C., O'Brien

OK, we can take Fussbudget Factory, or even Wisenheimer World, but "Smartypants Central" goes right to our id. Yes, we have one collective id, sort of like the Borg. And we're sensitive about it.

We were relieved that this "tough one" was downright easy (for us) thanks to ODOT project information specialist Gary Leaming. But he had to step out of his ODOT region to get the answer.

"I checked the STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) and talked to Mike Stinson, the district manager for Klamath Falls," he said. Here's what he learned:

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In the summer of 2008, a $15 million project gets under way from milepost 16 (end of our ODOT district boundary (where new pavement ends, old pavement begins) to milepost 33.7 (near the summit). It will be an asphalt overlay, some guardrail and drain pipe replacements, with two left-turn refuges. One is at the westbound turn into Fish Lake Road. The other is a westbound left-turn refuge into the Great Meadow Parking Lot, a sports area in winter and a rest stop the rest of the year.

In 2009, the project continues from the summit to milepost 41.5 (Fourmile Flat Road).

You can find that STIP info on page 367 of the PDF document available through this abbreviated Web link: tinyurl.com/2y7523.

Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to youasked@mailtribune.com.