All-way stop added to dangerous Medford intersection

Medford, Ore. — The intersection of OR-238 and W. Main Street was realigned in 2006. Since that project, no one has died in a crash there. However, crashes with injuries continue to happen, and they’re on the rise but on Monday, changes were made in hopes of making it safer for drivers.

“One of the main missions of the agency is to have a safe and efficient transportation system and I think that’s what’s going on here today,” ODOT spokesman, Gary Leaming says.

Paint was added, and additional signs were installed at the intersection of Highway 238 and W. Main Street in Medford.

“The crash rate continues to go up at this intersection,” Leaming says, “and so we’re taking steps to make it so that everybody stops.”

The transition to an all-way stop, is a change Franklin Corbin had hoped for. He, his son, and his daughter-in-law have all been injured in separate crashes here.

“It’s just a lot of things going on, in a lot of different directions and it really confuses drivers,” Franklin Corbin says.

“A lot of people who are involved in crashes or near misses they say, ‘I just didn’t see that guy coming’, or ‘I thought he was going slower than he was’ so a lot of that feedback has gone into this decision,” Leaming adds.

In addition to the added stop signs and paint, over the next month, drivers can expect to see electronic message boards and traffic control signs indicating the changes.

But the all-way stop may not be permanent.

“Depending on how it functions and if funding is available this may be a candidate down the road for a roundabout,” Leaming says.

“A roundabout in the far off future, I think that would be a real good fix,” Corbin says, “but for now this is gonna save lives.”

Prior to this project, the most common crash was a left turn from 238 on to W. Main. According to ODOT, the change cost around $10,000 to complete.