Supercharger - Medford, OR

[acarney]

So here's another odd OneCall. It just says install electrical service, but it does note that the work is being done for Tesla, and the contractor is Blackstone, a very well known supercharger builder in the Pacific Northwest (I would say done almost 100% of the superchargers in the last year or so). I normally would just think someone was lazy and didn't specify supercharger in the description... BUT, Medford, OR isn't near any planned supercharger pins on Tesla's map. The other vague OneCall was Entiat, WA and that is fairly close to a "coming soon" pin....

Looking at the location this could be a supercharger (near a main highway and a decent number of fast food options), but this could just be a bank of destination chargers since it's also a mall location...

OneCall: Search and Status

Map: Google Maps

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

@MarcoRP
@Chuq

That's a great find.

Mt Shasta, CA to Grants Pass, OR is 117.3 miles, and the second largest gap on I-5.
This splits that gap. It doesn't matter that they don't have a pin, it's a gap that needed splitting.

What's more, that gap is south of the biggest gap on I-5, so splitting will have a big impsct.
If they're addressing this gap, hopefully they'll soon address the gap to the north as well.

Malls are still the most common location for Tesla Superchargers.

 

[ohmman]

Moderator Note: title amended.

 

[Tectonic]

@MarcoRP
@Chuq

That's a great find.

Mt Shasta, CA to Grants Pass, OR is 117.3 miles, and the second largest gap on I-5.
This splits that gap. It doesn't matter that they don't have a pin, it's a gap that needed splitting.

Nice! Also didn't they have a sign up at Grants Pass about adding additional capacity because of crowding? So they need the extra capacity no matter what. Maybe they decided it was easier to add capacity at a new site in Medford rather than at the existing site at Grants Pass...

 

[otter]

Nice! Also didn't they have a sign up at Grants Pass about adding additional capacity because of crowding? So they need the extra capacity no matter what. Maybe they decided it was easier to add capacity at a new site in Medford rather than at the existing site at Grants Pass...

I'm wondering the same thing. It appeared they might have doing something similar when they put in Buttonwillow and Bakersfield in 2016.

 

[bruce4000]

Was expecting the next to be Roseburg but the more the better.

 

[Janus]

Nice! Also didn't they have a sign up at Grants Pass about adding additional capacity because of crowding? So they need the extra capacity no matter what. Maybe they decided it was easier to add capacity at a new site in Medford rather than at the existing site at Grants Pass...

Yeah, I recall seeing that sign a year ago. Though when I passed through Grants Pass last month, it was not there. That parking lot is always fairly busy, and tended to get filled by patrons of the Black Bear Dinner. There was no way they could have put more stalls in that lot, so they'd have had to find another location within Grants Pass, or put it in a different city.

Medford makes a ton of sense, it a way bigger town than Grants Pass, and it's much closer to the uphill climb (for those heading south).

 

[acarney]

Sorry about the post title, I just was very unsure if this would be a supercharger or not since it was nowhere near a “coming soon” Tesla pin. Didn’t want to jump the gun and get people excited

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Medford, OR

Along Primary Interstates: I-5
Along US Numbered Highways (<=5mi): None
Along Auxiliary Interstates: None
Along State Routes: OR-62

I-5

From: Mt. Shasta, CA - 89.4 miles
To: Grants Pass, OR - 28.8 miles
Diversion: 0.9 miles
From: Red Bluff, CA - 179.7 miles
To: Springfield, OR - 167.2 miles

Another Interstate splitter. It splits the 2nd largest gap on I-5, the 117.3 miles between Mt Shasta, CA and Grants Pass, OR. The largest gap, 138.4 miles from Grants Pass, OR to Springfield, OR is consecutive to that gap, so this splitter will very significant for travelers along that stretch of I-5.

The Supercharger is located at the western end of OR-62, the Crater Lake Highway, which could be useful for some people.

 

[smartypnz]

Nice scenic alternative to Bend, via Crater Lake as opposed to Klamath Falls.

 

[Oliver’s MX]

Absolutely love it! When not in COVID ‘lock-down’ we travel RT from Olympia, WA to Modesto, CA, (810 miles) twice yearly and don’t care for Grants Pass very much for the previously stated reasons by others. This really opens up charging options and we’d be in heaven if something in the Sutherlin/Roseburg area popped up too.

 

[PLUS EV]

I would have preferred Ashland to Medford as it provides better spacing and is most certainly more of a draw for Tesla drivers, but in any case, I'm so glad they didn't decide to make a mega charger at Grants Pass. Very tired of the Grants Pass stops, and I don't just mean the supercharger as I stopped there a lot in my ICE days as well.

I agree that Roseburg or Sutherlin is now the most pressing need for this area and I think (hope?) we will get a supercharger there soon.

 

[Mike Maloney]

The pin is on a Target store. It is close to In-Out Burger. Will be nice for me. I’m in Yreka and make regular trips to Medford. It will also might make it possible to skip Grants Pass - an extremely weak link on I5 in Oregon. I will miss Babe’s bakery in Grants Pass!

 

[Doakills]

I would have preferred Ashland to Medford as it provides better spacing and is most certainly more of a draw for Tesla drivers, but in any case, I'm so glad they didn't decide to make a mega charger at Grants Pass. Very tired of the Grants Pass stops, and I don't just mean the supercharger as I stopped there a lot in my ICE days as well.

I agree that Roseburg or Sutherlin is now the most pressing need for this area and I think (hope?) we will get a supercharger there soon.

Totally agree to this! It would fill in the gap between Eugene / Grants Pass (Future Medford). If they built a setup in Roseburg / Sutherlin I could leave home in Vancouver and drive straight through to there and stop.

 

[ninerbynature]

She’s under construction

 

[Tectonic]

She’s under construction

Wow. Things are really on Target with this one...

@MarcoRP
@Chuq

 

[ninerbynature]

Wow. Things are really on Target with this one...

@MarcoRP
@Chuq

From the trenching alone it looks to be a 12 stall going in but not 100%

 

[corywright]

She’s under construction

Thanks for providing pictures. I've now marked it as under construction on supercharge.info.

 

[mtf16]

People from Hillsboro admire the progress...

 

[EV-lutioin]

We need a SC in Roseburg, not Medford. Odd choice.