OTC moves unsolicited proposal to next step in process

Oregon Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 12/19/2012 02:45 PM PST

 

December 19, 2012                                            For more information: Lou Torres (503) 986-2880

12-330 R2                                                             email at: mailto:louis.c.torres@odot.state.or.us  

                                                                          

OTC approves moving unsolicited proposal

for I-5/Kuebler Project to next step in process

 

SALEM—The Oregon Transportation Commission approved moving ahead with the first ever unsolicited proposal from a private entity that would modify the planned interchange project at the I-5 Kuebler Interchange in south Salem. By a 3-2 vote, the commission decided to move the unsolicited proposal to the next step described under Oregon law and administered through the Office of Innovative Partnerships (OIPP) process.

 

By agreeing to move the proposal to the next step, the Oregon Department of Transportation must solicit competing proposals within 30 days. The approval does not mean that the OTC endorses the proposal, which was “conceptual” and did not include a lot of the details and information necessary to evaluate the proposal. There would be several other steps and approvals in the process before the proposal or any other competing proposal would enter the project delivery process.

 

In September, Retail Property Solutions (RPS) Development Company, Inc. submitted a proposal that would build a diverging diamond interchange design that is yet untested in Oregon. RPS has landowner interest in the interchange. A committee appointed by ODOT’s director determined that the conceptual proposal met the minimum requirements under the OIPP process. It was recommended that the proposal be forwarded on to the OTC for further action.

 

The I-5/Kuebler Interchange Project is a Jobs and Transportation Act project that was currently about to go to design with construction scheduled for late 2013. The $18.6 million project will upgrade the existing interchange by adding a westbound to southbound loop ramp and modifying an eastbound to southbound ramp and the existing southbound and the existing southbound off ramp.

 

The decision to solicit competing proposals is likely to delay the start of the project, but it is unclear how long the delay will be.

 

ODOT