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Oregon Officials Clash Over Transportation Spending Policies

Posted on: Thursday, 22 December 2005, 21:00 CST

By Libby Tucker

State representatives and transportation commissioners clashed over transportation spending policies last week, as the Oregon Transportation Commission rejected counties' pleas to set aside portions of a new federal allocation for highway construction projects while approving an allocation for preservation of existing infrastructure and technology upgrades, citing statewide needs.

With transportation revenue shortfalls estimated to reach more than $1 billion a year over the next 20 years, the $212.5 million allocation of federal formula money for the state of Oregon is merely a drop in the maintenance bucket, the Oregon transportation commission said at the Dec. 13 meeting.

The commission repeatedly emphasized that it is responsible for meeting the funding needs of the entire state - not just the metropolitan regions where the majority of the large construction projects are centered.

We're called the state Transportation Commission, not the highway commission, said Janice Wilson, an OTC commissioner who advocated a more balanced approach to state funding. The Oregon legislature made it very clear to us that this is about multi-modal. - Other parts of what we're responsible for are also significantly underfunded.

The decision allocates $170 million to highway spending and $42.5 million to non-highway funding over the next five years and is consistent with the commission's policy of prioritizing maintenance needs over capital improvement projects.

But county and state representatives testified that they believe it's time to fund projects of statewide significance, designated as a top priority by the state legislature.

We've received very minimal support, and we do not understand why, since our legislature has repeatedly made the policy decision to move projects of statewide significance into construction, said state Rep. Donna Nelson, a McMinnville Republican. It is the Oregon Transportation Commission's responsibility to be accountable to our legislative policy. Will you please come through for us?

The OTC has instead urged counties to find alternative funding sources by working with the Oregon Innovative Partnerships program, an Oregon Department of Transportation program created to solicit private funding for public projects.

Proposals take toll on counties

Toll roads that would be constructed through public-private partnerships are now the proposed solution for three of the state's biggest highway projects: the Sunrise Corridor, the Interstate 205 expansion and the Newberg-Dundee bypass. All were designated projects of statewide significance by the OTC in 2002.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is in predevelopment negotiations with Macquarie Infrastructure Group, a private development firm that may fund construction of the three projects. The firm is conducting a study, to be presented to ODOT in June, to determine the economic feasibility of tolling on the projects.

Clackamas and Yamhill counties, however, predict that tolling revenues won't cover construction costs on the Newberg-Dundee bypass and the Sunrise Corridor projects despite Macquarie's support.

County commissioners and state representatives pleaded with the Transportation Commission to reserve for the projects some of the $212.5 million in federal funds - made available through SAFETEA- LU, or the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users - in order to fill the tolling gap and bring the projects to construction more quickly.

Clackamas is supportive of the potential of tolling to the Sunrise; however, we have concerns that tolling may not cover the full amount, said Bill Kennemer, a Clackamas County commissioner, in a presentation to the OTC.

The Sunrise Corridor project, currently in the design phase, is estimated to cost in excess of $300 million by the time of completion, expected in 2009. So far, the county has the funds in hand to complete the environmental impact statement and has raised an additional $58 million to cover the final design costs.

Yamhill County representatives are also frustrated by what has become a 20-year process to bring the $300 million to $500 million Newberg-Dundee bypass to construction.

Under the approved funding allocation, projects such as the Sunrise Corridor highway and Newberg-Dundee bypass may still receive some funding at the regional level through area transportation commissions. But the OTC did not mandate such funding.

We're committed to finding the appropriate funding (for the projects), and we hope you work with us, realizing that there are statewide needs to address, too, said Stuart Foster, OTC chairman. There may be some other opportunities to generate some revenue streams to help build (the Sunrise) project. We hope by next summer we'll be able to get our arms around it, and know what that gap is. Then we will work on a collaborative basis to achieve what we all agree needs to be achieved.

Source: Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR)

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