PORTLAND, Oregon — Oregon lawmakers passed a $20 million spending bill for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to clean up Portland highways, especially along Interstates 405, 205 and 84.
"I think it should go a long way," said Kacey Davey with ODOT. "You should see a bigger impact than you have in the past when we’ve tried to do this piece by piece.”
Davey tells KGW funds will be split four different ways. $4 million will each go towards cleaning up graffiti, trash and homeless camps along highways. The remaining $8 million will be used for preventative measures to keep roadways clean and safe.
“[Preventative measures include] things like fencing, barricades and lighting to encourage folks not to park and camp in places that are very dangerous to be along the highway,” explained Davey.
Davey said the funds will also allow ODOT to hire contractors and work with the city of Portland to assist their maintenance crews with the clean-ups. She adds that this, too, will allow them to triple the amount of work that can be done to ensure roadways stay clear.
"We've already got our spending codes lined up, so we can charge it correctly, and the crews are ready to go," said Davey. "We're hoping to get started no later than the beginning of April to do all this work, so it should be just a few weeks before we'll get started with the major cleanups."
But not everyone is on board with the funding.
Oregon Rep. Travis Nelson, who oversees north and northeast Portland, took to social media to voice his opposition, saying, “I withdrew my support for this funding when neither ODOT or the city of Portland could assure me that this cleanup would last. I have serious doubts as to whether this $20 million in tax payer dollars will be used effectively.”
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek still has to sign off on the bill. Once that happens, ODOT says it will start clean-up work immediately.