PORTLAND, Ore. — On Tuesday, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) hosted the first in a series of public outreach sessions explaining what the massive federal infrastructure bill, known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will mean for Oregon.
"This is really the first time we've seen a major investment in the transportation system by the federal government in several decades," said Travis Brouwer, ODOT's assistant director for revenue, finance and compliance.
ODOT will get $1.2B of this money over the next five years. A sizeable chunk of that amount is already spoken for, with money allocated to address climate change, improve safety, expand transit options and repair bridges. The chart below depicts where that money is going.
But 32% of that funding is labeled as "Flexible Funds." That's about $384 million available for projects that have been shelved for years due to lack of funding.
ODOT is asking the public to give input on how the state can best use this influx of federal dollars. "What are the best places to put these dollars that help us achieve the state's transportation goals, help make Oregon a better place, and improve our economy," Brouwer said.
Here's a link to an open house and survey the public can participate in until Dec. 22. ODOT said there will likely be several more in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, a question KGW has fielded often pertains to tolling and why can't some of this money be used to offset project costs ODOT says require tolling on I-5 and I-205.
"The I-205 project in total — including Abernethy Bridge and the lanes between Stafford Road and OR 213 — will run approximately $700 million," Brouwer said. "The Rose Quarter is currently estimated at about $1.2 billion; we’re updating the estimate right now based on the new design with a larger highway cover, so that number will likely change when we bring the project’s conceptual finance plan to the OTC for approval in January."
In short, the flexible funds would only cover a small portion of just one of those two major ODOT projects.
Additionally, ODOT sees tolling as an effective, equitable congestion mitigation strategy, a tool they expect to roll out in the next few years.
It should be noted that other major projects, such as the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge, headed by Multnomah County, and the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, will be pursuing their own federal grants, competing with other mega projects around the nation.
"In addition to reauthorizing the existing Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Capital Investment Grant program, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorizes two new discretionary funding programs – a Bridge Investment Program and a National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program – from which the IBR program could potentially seek grant funding," said Greg Johnson, the administrator for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program. "The IBR program team will monitor upcoming federal guidance so that the program can leverage other investments such as anticipated future state funding to take full advantage of federal funding opportunities."