Oregon transportation officials are unsure how new policies around federal grants could affect $33 million that’s supposed to be used to build a wildlife crossing over I-5.
The money was announced late last year, and will allow animals to safely pass between two major wild areas. This section of the interstate has seen a large number of wildlife deaths from car crashes.
Jack Williams is one of the coordinators of the group of agencies and nonprofits that’s been pushing to get this crossing built. He said luckily, the state hasn’t gotten to the construction phase yet.
"So, we wouldn’t expect the federal money to be in ODOT’s pockets at this point regardless," he said. "So it doesn’t really delay this particular project.”
Williams said the state is still using its own money to get through the design and engineering phase. They don’t expect to start construction for another two years.
The newly-appointed federal secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, has outlined new criteria to evaluate these grants. They include a preference for projects in communities with high marriage and birth rates, and prohibit recipients from imposing vaccine or mask mandates.
Officials at the Oregon Department of Transportation say they're still committed to the project and hope to learn more soon about how this project and others will be impacted by the new uncertainty around federal funding.
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This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
