Citizens object to changing name of Beltline
EUGENE, Ore. -- It's not the name change. It's the money.
That's why Frank LeClair says he showed up at an Oregon Department of Transportation meeting Tuesday night.
The Springfield man said he wanted to tell the agency about his concerns over renaming Beltline Highway after a local businessman -- at a price tag of $250,000
"In this economy, with unemployment what it is and just the financial situation of the state right now, they are wasting money on something that isn't necessary," LeClair said.
Last week, the Oregon Transportation Commission approved a request from Gov. Ted Kulongoski to rename the highway in honor of Randy Papé, a prominent businessman, philanthropist, University of Oregon booster and former Oregon Transportation Commission official.
About 50 signs saying Beltline will have to be replaced with new ones saying Papé Beltway. The signs are being designed right now, and contstruction is expected to get underway in several months.
Rick Little, an ODOT spokesman, said money for the project would come from the State Highway Finance Plan. That's a pool of money for highway projects. Little said the idea is tap the surplus fund when highway projects finish under-budget.
Tuesday night's ODOT meeting, at a grange hall in north Eugene, had nothing to do with the renaming.
Instead, it was an open house focused on long-range improvements to the highway, which the agency hopes to revive over the next decade.
"The changes range from the simple - extending on ramps and off ramps. To the complex -- adding new interchanges from River Road to Coburg Road," Little said. The project also entails "redesigning the Delta and Beltline interchange and adding arterial bridges and roads."
Refering to the congrestion and traffic woes along the main artery, Little said, "The Beltline was designed for 1960s travel; it's 2010."
Even so, critics used the platform to express their frustration with the recent naming choice, which in their view is a case of misplaced priorites.
"It's a vanity project," said Ben Hallert of Springfield.
