| American Recovery and Reinvestment Act |
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| Latest News |
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Crews work on an ARRA funded project on U.S. 97 near Bend
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ARRA transportation funds flowing into Oregon economy
Here in Oregon, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has lived up to its name, as ARRA’s transportation funding has both promoted economic recovery and invested resources in improving the state’s transportation system in ways that strengthen communities and improve long-term economic opportunities.
ODOT has more than 200 projects funded in part through ARRA, including 97 that are currently under construction and 58 that have been completed. More than $136 million dollars has been spent in the ARRA program since February 2009, when ODOT put the first ARRA dollars to work making safety improvement on U.S. 26 in the Portland area. From building sidewalks to updating traffic lights, from expanding a multi-use path in Douglas County to upgrading rest areas in eastern Oregon - ARRA funds are helping Oregon businesses and Oregon workers, along with crews from ODOT, shore up the public's investment in transportation infrastructure all over the state. Read ODOT's ARRA accomplishment report or view the latest status update.
The U.S. 97 Lava Butte to South Century Drive project in Deschutes County is using $11.7 million in ARRA funds to increase capacity, improve safety and protect wildlife on this popular stretch of highway south of Bend. Project elements include:
- Increase traffic capacity of US 97 between South Century Drive and Lava Butte by constructing a four lane highway (two lanes in each direction).
- Separate northbound and southbound traffic with a forested median of up to a maximum width of 108 feet.
- Reconstruct the Cottonwood Road interchange from a partial to a full diamond interchange.
- Eliminate dangerous intersections by constructing alternative access to Lava Lands Visitor’s Center and Lava River Cave via Crawford Road and Cottonwood Road.
- Build four structures under US 97 to reduce wildlife/vehicle crashes and facilitate wildlife movement.
Knife River Northwest is the prime contractor on the project, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2011.
ODOT meets federal Recovery Act deadline
All of Oregon's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act highway program funding has been obligated. The Recovery Act included a "use it or lose it" provision that required all highway program funds to be obligated within one year of distribution to states and metropolitan planning organizations. ODOT’s accomplishment ensures that the state will not lose any funding, and the state will be eligible to receive any leftover funds other states did not obligate in time.
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| Recovery Act Accomplishments Report |
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Putting Oregon back to work
ODOT's Recovery Act Accomplishment Report (pdf) details how ARRA is helping to keep Oregon on the move by putting Oregon back to work. Among the most important accomplishments under the Recovery Act:
- Jobs were created quickly, putting Oregon contractors and workers back on the job within months;
- Multi-modal investments improved Oregon’s transportation system, reducing congestion, providing better transit options, and helping Oregon companies move their goods to market;
- Local communities were able to fund priority projects;
- Jobs were distributed throughout the state, particularly in Economically Distressed Areas;
- ODOT developed new ways to move projects through the federal environ-mental process quickly and at reduced cost.
Read the full report (pdf) for more detailed information.
Revitalizing communities
The Recovery Act provided an excellent opportunity to improve Oregon's surface transportation system - and thereby improve the health of the state's economy and its communities. The downtown Maupin Revitalization project, funded in part with $800,000 in ARRA funds, is just one example of how Recovery Act money is benefiting Oregon.
In order to give the City of Maupin's downtown a facelift, the city and ODOT teamed up to design and construct a project that included new curbing, sidewalks, bulb-outs at the cross street intersections, brick pavers, tree grates for future street tree plantings and ornamental street lights along both sides of U.S. 197 between Burnham Avenue and 3rd Street.
ARRA funding allowed restoration of a portion of the project that had been cut due to lack of funds. As a result of this joint city-state project, downtown Maupin is much more inviting to tourists, and new opportunities have been created for downtown development.
Watch video of the community's response to the improvements.
By the numbers
Quick facts from the Recovery Act Accomplishments Report -
- 600 lane miles of state highways paved.
- $471.6 million invested in Oregon's surface transportation system.
- $126 million proved for public transportation.
- 94 buses and van purchased by Oregon's small town and rural transit districts.
- 65 percent of ODOT's funding flowed to Economically Distressed Areas.
- 54 dayes to obligated 50 percent of ODOT's funding - more than twice as fast as required by law.
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| History and Background Information |
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The federal economic stimulus legislation, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, HR 1), provides Oregon more than $470 million to preserve and improve the state’s highways, transit systems, rail, bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure and more. Funding is being provided to the state, local governments, and transit districts under a variety of programs.
The Oregon Transportation Commission approved transportation enhancement, rural transit grant and state and local road, rail, public transit and port projects worth more than $240 million at public meetings in the spring of 2009. The Commission continues to approve new projects and changes to existing projects. Learn about contracting opportunities for these and other projects.
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| High Speed Rail |
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An Amtrak train pulls into Portland's Union Station.
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Moving people in the Pacific Northwest
The federally designated Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor, or PNWRC, traveling the verdant valleys between Vancouver, British Columbia and Eugene, Oregon, has been the subject of “high speed” passenger rail planning and implementation studies since the 1960s. The Federal Railroad Administration defines high speed rail as service that is reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 mph. Though it’s not high speed, the states of Washington and Oregon have hosted intercity passenger rail service on the PNWRC since 1994. Planning efforts in 1992, 2001 and again in 2006 conclude that the Willamette Valley section of the PNWRC between Eugene and Portland should expand intercity passenger rail service to meet expected population growth in the region.
Amtrak currently serves area
Existing state-sponsored service in Oregon consists of two Amtrak Cascades trips per day and three Thruway bus trips per day, in addition to the Amtrak-sponsored Coast Starlight operating daily from Los Angeles to Seattle. Planned increases for passenger service include the addition of a third Cascades round trip in 2017, a fourth in 2020, a fifth in 2023, and a sixth in 2030.
The future moves faster
Oregon’s goal is to provide increased, reliable, safe, and sustainable passenger rail service that is compatible with freight rail operations within the Oregon segment of the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor between Portland and Eugene. Specifically, Oregon wants to:
- Increase average passenger train speeds (from 42 to 65 miles per hour)
- Increase maximum passenger train speeds (from 79 to 110 miles per hour)
- Reduce passenger rail trip time between Eugene and Portland (from 2 hours and 35 minutes to 1 hour and 55 minutes – the same time as it takes to drive between these cities along the freeway)
- Increase on-time performance of passenger trains (from 68 percent to 95 percent or higher)
ARRA funds awarded
The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $8 billion to jumpstart the development of improved high speed intercity passenger rail service in the United States. President Obama has pledged to include an additional $1 billion for high speed intercity passenger rail in each of the next five years’ budgets. The PNWRC received $598 million. Of that amount, Oregon was awarded $8 million in the first round and will continue to compete in future rounds.
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| Public Transportation |
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The ARRA contains substantial funding for public transportation.
On April 15, 2009, the Oregon Transportation Commission approved $14.6 million in ARRA funds to rural transit districts through the 5311 grant program managed by ODOT’s Public Transit Division. The list includes grants for vehicle replacement, vehicle repairs, capital improvements, equipment and more.
In addition, transit districts in six urban areas in Oregon-- Portland, Salem/Keizer, Eugene/Springfield, Corvallis, Medford, and Bend-- will receive allocations of funding through the Federal Transit Administration.
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| TIGER Surface Transportation Discretionary Grants |
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ARRA provided $1.5 billion in discretionary grants for surface transportation projects across all transportation modes. The U.S. Department of Transportation has named this the TIGER grant program. ODOT and local governments submitted more than 20 applications for transportation projects.
On Feb. 17, 2010, the U.S. DOT announced the recipients of the TIGER grants. A total of 51 projects across the country were funded. The only project receiving funding in Oregon was the City of Portland's Innovation Quardrant - SW Moody Street and Streetcar Reconstriction. The project received $23.2 million for road, streetcar and bicycle/pedestrian improvements to the South Waterfront area of Portland.
Get more on this project and others funded under TIGER.
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| Local Government Funding |
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ARRA provides local governments in Oregon about $100 million in highway program funding. Metropolitan planning organizations, cities over 5,000 that are not in an MPO, and counties are in charge of selecting projects to compete with this funding.
Overview of local government funding (pdf)
Allocations of funding to local governments (pdf)
Jurisdictions that did not receive an annual allocation of Surface Transportation Program funds competed for funding under a small cities grant program that awarded nearly $5 million to 52 projects.
Small cities program projects (pdf)
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