Funding for the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program

On Tuesday, the Oregon Transportation Commission approved an initial plan to invest more than $2.2 billion in different types of transportation projects through the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (known as the STIP) for 2024 to 2027. The STIP funds construction projects and a variety of transportation programs, including roads and bridges, bicycle, pedestrian, and public transportation.
In its action, the Commission invested record amounts in public transportation, pedestrian and bicycle programs while also providing funding to improve safety and preserve roads and bridges.

“Oregon has a broad range of transportation needs that cannot be fully met by existing resources,” said Oregon Transportation Commission Chair Robert Van Brocklin. “We must stretch scarce resources to address a diverse set of priorities. The investments we are developing in this STIP will help us make progress on multiple fronts, including improving mobility across the state, reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions, addressing congestion, improving safety and seismic response efforts, improving freight mobility, and keeping existing roads and bridges in good repair. Historic investments in transit and active transportation will help us provide mobility choices, including by car, bus, rail, bike, or other modes to help us meet Oregon’s climate goals,” said Van Brocklin.

The Commission based its decision on its Strategic Action Plan, which focuses on building a modern transportation system by preserving roads and bridges, reducing traffic crashes, improving access to public and active transportation, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and tackling growing congestion. Equity is infused throughout the plan to ensure that the burdens and benefits of the transportation system are shared by all users rather than falling disproportionately on marginalized groups.

The STIP is but one part of the investment into Oregon’s transportation system. Many federal and state-funded programs assist in pedestrian, bicycle, passenger rail and transit options including such programs as the Safe Routes to School and the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund. The vast majority of funding for these modes comes from outside the STIP.

The Commission approved an initial allocation of funding that addresses these goals by balancing investments across different outcomes laid out in the Strategic Action Plan. The Commission provided $255 million in funding for public and active transportation programs—an increase of nearly $100 million and more than 60% from the 2021-2024 STIP. The historic investment in these modes adds to the increased funding provided in the 2017 legislative transportation investment package, which created a new statewide public transportation program and increased investment to help kids safely bike or walk to school.

The Commission also preserved significant funding for pavement and bridge maintenance programs, although even at these funding levels some state highways are expected to experience minor deterioration over the period covered by the STIP. ODOT estimates the agency would needs hundreds of millions of dollars more to keep aging state highway bridges and pavements from deteriorating, far beyond the ability of the agency to fund within the STIP. The Commission also maintained record levels of dedicated funding for safety improvements, invested in efforts to improve the state highway system by addressing congestion and bottlenecks, and provided resources for ODOT to meet its commitments to make state highways accessible to those with disabilities that limit mobility.

The Commission received extensive public comment over a five month period through a survey that more than 800 Oregonians responded to, an online open house that garnered over 200 responses, feedback from more than a dozen advisory committees, and hundreds of letters and e-mails from elected officials, advocacy groups, and other Oregon residents.

The public comment from more than a thousand Oregonians embodied a number of key themes:

• Support for significantly increasing funding for bicycle, pedestrian, and public transportation programs to address equity, climate change, and multimodal mobility.
• Support for investments to prevent existing roads and bridges from deteriorating.
• Support for improving state highways to address congestion.

This action is just the first step in developing the 2024-2027 STIP. In January, the Commission will review recommendations on how to allocate funding within the major categories—for example, how non-highway funding should go to transit versus bicycle and pedestrian projects, and what types of state highway preservation and improvement projects to focus on. With that step complete, over the next two years ODOT will use data on road and bridge conditions and safety issues, along with discussions with communities and advisory committees, to develop and refine the list of projects. In 2023 the Commission will hold a final public comment opportunity before making any adjustments to the draft STIP and signing off on the final STIP.