ODOT Needs an Additional $1.3 Billion to Upgrade Roads and Bridges Throughout Oregon

Proposals on how to fund an additional $1.3 billion for the Oregon Department of Transport (ODOT) will be revealed in a preliminary plan in April by the legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee.

This decision was taken following discussions by lawmakers on solutions to raise the additional sum needed by the ODOT to improve roads and bridges throughout the state.

Hiking Fuel Taxes and Registration Fees Could Solve the Funding Problem

Lawmakers bandied about suggestions like hiking taxes on gas and increasing the cost of motor vehicle registration fees, both likely to meet with opposition from Oregonians.

An ODOT Funding Package proposal was presented for discussion. Currently, Oregon’s fuel tax is a fixed rate of 40 cents per gallon. Legislative action would be needed to change the rate. The same applies to registration and title fees.

However, inflationary pressures and growing fuel efficiency have not allowed revenues to keep pace with the rising cost of highway construction and daily maintenance costs and operations.

The ODOT Funding Package document reveals that the National Highway Construction Cost Index has almost doubled since 2017, while equipment costs have risen 25% in the past four years.

Oregon Could Adopt a Variable Rate on Fuel Taxes Based on Inflation

The document puts forward the tentative proposal that Oregon adopt a variable rate on fuel taxes as it is already successfully implemented in 24 states and Washington D.C. Fuel taxes can be adjusted using a variable rate based on inflation ‘or another index.’ This will eliminate the need for legislative intervention.

In her biennial budget, Governor Tina Kotek requested $350 million to allow ODOT to maintain current operations, with an additional $1.3 billion in new funding. The governor left it to lawmakers to devise funding options.

To avoid tax increases, the two Republican vice-chairs of the Joint Transportation Committee, Rep. Shelley Boshart Davis and Sen. Bruce Starr, want their colleagues to investigate trimming the budget wherever possible so that ODOT can concentrate on road maintenance and operations.