Jerry Wolcott, Corvallis River Crossing project leader for Area 4 in Corvallis with ODOT, will be giving a project update to the community on Dec. 9, noon to 1 p.m., in the Memorial Union room 109. His presentation will include information on several projects slated for the coming years that are aimed at reducing the backup and increasing safety along the routes in and out of town.

The problem

ODOT is looking at reducing congestion in and around east Corvallis. It is here that three highways (US 20, OR 34, and OR 99W) converge, and create a bottleneck in downtown Corvallis. Vehicles from the large commuter shed vie for limited space with freight and local traffic, and congestion backs up in all directions.

The South Bypass intersection is in the top 10 percent of all crash sites in the region. In the last three years, 23 crashes were reported at the intersection. Most of the crashes in this area are the rear-end variety. The intersection of Highway 34 and Peoria Road is a top 5 percent site. Over the past five years, there have been 71 crashes reported at the Peoria Road intersection, 87 percent of which were rear-end type of crashes.

Bike and pedestrian access eastbound across the river happens on the Van Buren Bridge and westbound on the Harrison bridge. There is a loop under the Van Buren and Harrison bridges that connects to the OSU crew docks road. Many students and employees travel and commute along the shoulder of a high speed expressway during all weather conditions.

The magnitude of the problem

Since the Van Buren Bridge is single lane, conventional wisdom assumed that the narrow bridge was the source of the problem, and a wider bridge the only needed solution. So an ODOT planning project was developed to find a bridge solution. The project initially focused on the structural and functional integrity of the bridge.

A traffic study evaluated eleven intersections in downtown, and the South Bypass intersection, simultaneously, and looked at current traffic, and what traffic would look like in 2030 under each of eight scenarios. Included in the scenarios were a new North Bypass Bridge, a two and three lane Van Buren Bridge, and a two and three lane Harrison Bridge. The study also looked at the bypass intersection as currently signalized, and as a full interchange. Perhaps most importantly, the study also reviewed the impact of reduced demand through the use of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and Transportation Systems Management (TSM) concepts.

The traffic study showed that 20 years from now, if nothing is done, congestion will extend for more than a mile away from the Willamette River in all directions, with cars idling for 30 minutes or more. Traffic will back up from the river to the Peoria Road intersection, and beyond. Congestion in the downtown area will extend south past downtown, over the Marys River and into south Corvallis.

The Long-Term Solution
The long-term solution is to move the confluence of three major highways to the east side of the Willamette River. The approach combines infrastructure with expanded transit, Park and Rides, and multi-use paths. Using this approach, the congestion in east Corvallis will move to the east side of the river, and it will eliminate the need to add another bridge along side the historic Van Buren Bridge.

Improvements will include a North Bypass bridge and a full interchange at the South Bypass intersection. The North Bypass Bridge will serve as a connection around downtown Corvallis, allowing OR 99W to be realigned outside of the downtown area. This is part of long-term plans adopted by Corvallis and Linn County.

At the South Bypass intersection, an interchange will be needed. This interchange is the cornerstone for any future facility improvement. The interchange will couple with frontage roads on the north and south sides of the highway, extending east to Peoria Road. These frontage roads will control access, and reduce the conflicting traffic movements that come from local residents and commercial trucks entering the highway. Instead, these vehicles will use the controlled, signalized intersection at Peoria Road. Peoria Road on the south side of the highway will be realigned with Wolcott Road on the north side of the highway. This will increase the capacity and illumination of the intersection, providing better east-west “green time” at the signal.

Expanded Transit and Park and Rides
An expanded transit system is a vital part of the long-term solution. This can be achieved by purchasing two buses for the Linn-Benton Loop. The buses will double the existing service between Albany and Corvallis, and create new commuter service from Lebanon to Corvallis.

The solution also includes expanding Park and Ride facilities at OR 34 and I-5, Lebanon and Albany. A likely next step is at the new sports complex that is planned at the Seven Mile Lane intersection.

Improving system operations on existing roads
There are many operational improvements that can be made to improve the efficiency of the system. Two major initiatives can be taken to do this. First, upgrade the detection and signal timing system in the downtown area around the bridge. Second, modify lane configurations to allow better circulation.

The signal detection upgrade will tie into the existing system, and install advanced detection equipment to recognize when the traffic loads are high. The computer then chooses an appropriate timing model from a list of options and changes automatically.

Circulation and operations can be improved by making modifications to lane configurations, including extending storage lanes, dedicating turn lanes, and making temporary changes to parking spaces during peak time hours.

Current Projects
OR34/US20: Roche-Wolcott
This project improves the safety of the corridor by realigning the Peoria/Wolcott Road intersection, adding a north side frontage road from Wolcott Road to the OSU/ODFW compound, and adding a Multi-Use Path from the OSU/ODFW compound to the south bypass intersection.
Total estimated cost: $6.385 million.
Current funding Fully funded
Status: Bid let scheduled for February 2011

Corvallis ITS
This project will improve peak time traffic by installing an intelligent detection and signal timing program in downtown Corvallis. The system will improve operations and safety in the downtown area.
Total estimated cost: $585,000.
Current funding: Fully funded
Status: Construction is scheduled for spring of 2011

OR34/US20: South Bypass – Groves Lane
This project will create a ‘slip lane’ (a lane of traffic that slips past the intersection) for northbound to eastbound traffic at the bypass intersection, and construct a frontage road from Ireland Road to Graves Lane.
Total estimated cost: $5,700,000.
Current funding: Fully funded
Status: Under development. Scheduled for construction in 2013

An Oregon Department of Transportation workshop in Kidder Hall takes advantage of OSU’s video streaming technology. In the center, Larry Christianson of ODOT moderates on-line comments from workshop participants in other parts of the state and makes sure they’re included. (photo: Theresa Hogue)

Tucked into Kidder Hall, Media Services is quietly working to put powerful digital tools into the hands of faculty members, and to find ways to use new technology to supplement traditional instruction. For John Greydanus, Director of Media Services, the point of embracing digital technology is to simplify and automate workflows, while providing the latest teaching tools.

“The only way to take full advantage of the new Web environment,” Greydanus said, “is to make sure users can manage their own resources, and don’t require a great deal of technical knowledge to post, distribute or use online media.”

In early 2007, OSU began working with Apple to launch an iTunes U site for posting videos and podcasts, but the project hit a snag when the Oregon Department of Justice raised concerns about the ownership of lectures and university intellectual properties when hosted by Apple.

As the legal battle dragged on, Media Services began looking at how to create a “Web 2.0” environment at OSU, which would do more than deliver podcasts to iTunes. After consulting with users across campus, they created a series of tools that do everything from allowing users to embed video clips into their own web sites, to streaming live events, posting classroom lectures to BlackBoard and videoconferencing.

The biggest project, and the one that impacts the largest portion of campus, is the Media Manager, a tool which automatically encodes media files into a format that can be played in Flash player. Students, staff and faculty can use their ONID logins to access Media Manager, upload their digital files from their cameras or computers, and get back code that they can embed into Web sites ranging from OSU Web pages to Facebook, as well as providing a postable URL to access the video.

The application was developed by Robert Hopson, former CWS system administrator, who created it using open source code.

Even though Greydanus has not yet heavily advertised Media Manager, there are already more than 1,500 videos loaded by users, with another 50 to 75 being added each week. One of the advantages of using Media Manager is that videos can be posted directly to OSU sites, so that viewers aren’t guided away from OSU and to a location where the university can’t control the content, or what else is being advertised alongside the university-produced videos.

Another Media Services innovation is the use of Podcast Producer, an Apple product that can be built into classroom teaching stations. It allows professors to record their lectures while also capturing whatever is being projected to the class, whether it’s a Powerpoint presentation, a document or even a DVD. The professor doesn’t need to do anything to use Podcast Producer, it will automatically begin recording when the lecture begins, and will later post the captured lecture onto the professor’s BlackBoard account.

It’s a much simpler way to record lectures that doesn’t involve staff attending classes to videotape instructors, Greydanus said.

“It captures classroom lectures in a cost-effective, scalable way.”

Media Services is also providing live video streaming from two live on-line channels. There is a live chat feature that accompanies the live streaming, allowing far-off viewers to participate in real-time during events. During a recent Oregon Department of Transportation workshop that was streamed around the state, ODOT moderator Larry Christianson fed on-line questions to the speakers, allowing those watching to have a say in how the workshop progressed.

Christianson said since ODOT has started offering workshops at OSU with the video streaming option, a growing number of participants have chosen to watch from home, what he calls “the environmentally and travel friendly option.”

“These guys were so good,” he said of OSU Media Services, that they’ve kept coming back to use the Kidder Hall facilities.

Media Services also uses something called a Tandberg Content Manager to automatically capture and archive videoconferences so that students and staff who missed classes and seminars can review them later from their computers.

By putting power into the hands of users, as well as automating many systems, Greydanus’ staff accomplished their original goal.

“We started out looking for the right mix of digital tools to capture and distribute media,” said Greydanus. “It wasn’t always easy but I believe we have a tool set that allows OSU to become an active Web 2.0 institution.”

~Theresa Hogue