Beltline Renamed

Eugene - It’s been called Oregon route 569, but is commonly known as the Beltline. Now the stretch of highway is getting a new name, the Randy Pape Beltway, after the late Eugene business man, and Oregon transportation commissioner. Randy Pape died of a heart attack in 2008. Signs that say Beltline will have to be replaced. The Oregon Department of Transportation estimates this will cost them two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This change and cost is getting mixed reaction around town. “It’s the most ridiculous two hundred and fifty thousand dollars I’ve heard of in my life.” “It doesn’t make a difference to me; it still gets you from A to B.” “It’s going to take a lot of money. I think that money could be spent fixing the pot holes in the road.” Rick Little with ODOT, says it’s good that people are expressing their opinions but, “the taxpayers who are upset about spending two hundred and fifty thousand dollars are riding on many of the roads and bridges that Randy Pape brought in millions to improve,” Little explains.