SALEM — The Oregon Department of Transportation, along with county and city lobbying groups, say they need another $5 billion a year to fully overhaul crumbling infrastructure around the state.
There isn’t enough money to pay for the entire wish list, which includes bridge replacements, seismic upgrades, road repaving and public transit projects. Instead, lawmakers will begin forming their own project list and funding plan that’ll be molded into a massive spending bill.
“This is just a starting point for the conversation,” said Rep. Caddy McKeown, D-Coos Bay, one of four legislators heading the influential committee tasked with devising a transportation plan. “We absolutely know that we’re not going to be able to afford everything that’s on this list.”
And the list is long.
$100 million a year to maintain pavement. $100 million a year to replace ailing bridges. $108 million a year for public transit expansions. All told, cities say repairing their rutted, pothole-ridden streets will cost $3.7 billion. Some costs, like seismic retrofitting, have not been calculated by cities and counties.
Paying for the upgrades is another challenge. A 12-page framework published by lawmakers gives a long list of revenue options: gas taxes, vehicle fees, roadway tolling, per-mile road use charges, public-private partnerships, carbon taxes, bicycle taxes, marijuana taxes, property taxes, payroll taxes and more.
McKeown said all options must be on the table to begin with until “interested parties” are consulted. “Who know which one of those are going to go forward,” she said.
Lawmakers on the transportation committee will be divided into subgroups, each tasked with forming one aspect of the plan. That process will likely take a month, said Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, one of the committee leaders.
Another wrinkle is the situation in Washington D.C. Lawmakers in Salem will work to pass a transportation plan despite uncertainty about the availability of federal funds.
As for McKeown, she didn’t want to speculate about how the Trump administration may figure into Oregon’s plans.
“I’m certainly hopeful that our federal partners will work with us,” she said.
— Gordon R. Friedman
gfriedman@oregonian.com; 503-221-8209
@gordonrfriedman
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