The Oregon Department of Transportation’s draft Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP, details proposed upgrades to roads and bridges, as well as to public transportation, including LTD in Lane County, and some community initiatives, such as a Eugene safety study. It covers a four-year period starting in 2027.
ODOT spokesperson Mindy McCartt said public feedback is important, and urged people to view and comment on the proposed roadmap.
McCartt said the plan is based on money the agency already has, and it’s restricted to funding construction projects. She said the taxes and fees that will be on the Oregon ballot this year involve different parts of the budget, but there’s one way the STIP may be affected.
“The maintenance and operation budget that is up for vote will affect staffing for ODOT, which would have a small trickle-down effect to some of these projects,” McCartt told KLCC. “I think that's why we're really looking at it holistically, and what we can do with more limited staff.”
McCartt said STIP dollars allocated to projects pay for the physical construction, but ODOT staff are needed to take care of many off-site details.
McCartt noted the 2027-2030 STIP has been scaled back. For example, it prioritizes paving on interstate highways, and includes fewer state and secondary highway paving projects. And she said while there is funding for priority bridge work, other bridges are on track to incur weight restrictions instead. She said this plan contains about 40% less “fix it” funding than the last STIP.
The draft plan for the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program is available for online comment through March 20.
The plan is expected to be adopted in June.
