Earlier this month, the Joint Committee on Transportation (JCT) 2024 listening tour made stops in Coos Bay (Aug. 7), and Medford (Aug. 8), in preparation for the consideration of a new transportation funding package during the 2025 legislative session. Each listening tour stop is expected to include roundtable discussions with local leaders, a site tour, and a public hearing.

The JCT will hold two listening tour meetings in August:

• Ontario: Aug. 28
• Hermiston: Aug. 29
• Bend: Sept. 12
• The Dalles: Sept. 13
• Salem (Virtual): Sept. 25
• Happy Valley: Sept. 26
• Hillsboro: Sept. 27

The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) encourages our members to save the date for their area meeting and be prepared to participate on behalf of their county’s local road, bridge, and transportation needs and priorities.

County road project tours and roundtables: The 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. local operations, maintenance, and safety project tours are coordinated by ODOT Region Managers. If your county is a host location please contact your ODOT Region for more information and to coordinate tour stops to visit county projects or facilities that would convey county road needs to the legislature. AOC county members wanting to attend the 2:00-4:00 p.m. local roundtable should contact AOC Legislative Affairs Director Mallorie Roberts before the meeting. ...[Read More]

Each year, the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) hosts district meetings where AOC’s member counties gather together with regional partners for collaboration and knowledge sharing on the most important issues facing their communities. 

These meetings are typically hosted in-person, by a member county within the district. This year's district meetings will begin in September, with meetings scheduled on the following days (all meetings will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.):

As part of HB 2017, the transportation funding package passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2017, all Oregon counties and cities are required to submit road and bridge condition information, as well as public road inventory mileage to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) by Feb. 1, 2025. You can begin developing your report by visiting ODOT's Required Infrastructure Reporting for Cities and Counties page.

Pavement and Bridge Condition Reporting

HB 2017 requires all Oregon counties and cities to report the condition of their roads and bridges every two years, or ODOT is statutorily required to withhold your State Highway Fund payments.

For your report, you will need to gather information about the condition of your paved, federal-aid roads. ODOT's HB 2017: Local Government Reporting Instructions page provides information on which roads to report. Keep in mind, you do not have to inspect your bridges because ODOT inspects all bridges and maintains the data, but you will need to add that data to the form.

Click here for a report that lists the bridges in your county and the condition of each bridge. The form to submit your data to ODOT will be available in early December 2024. 

Public Road Inventory Reporting

ODOT is federally mandated to provide an annual report on the certified public road miles for Oregon’s entire road network. This report includes mileage by surface type and jurisdiction rather than pavement condition.

The public road inventory report requires counties and cities to submit changes in mileage, surface type, and jurisdiction for all roads they own. This data is used to determine federal funding allocations. Instructions will be available on ODOT’s Certified Public Road Mileage website after Nov. 15, 2024. 

As part of its yearly reporting requirements to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is currently surveying Oregon counties and cities to collect annual receipts, expenditures, and debt information regarding roads and streets.

Each county should have already received information from ODOT about the survey. Surveys are due by Sept. 30.

This information is necessary for the preparation of annual reports required by the FHWA and is essential in FHWA policy and program development. Additionally, the questionnaires are compiled and shared with the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) and the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) for annual reports required by the Oregon Legislature (ORS 366.790 and 366.774).

If you have questions about this process, please contact ODOT’s Evan Rogers, at evan.rogers@odot.oregon.gov or send an email to economics@odot.oregon.gov.

The Oregon Community Paths (OCP) Program grant window is now open! Pre-applications are now being accepted through Sept. 15 and can be found on the OCP website.

Here is what you need to know about this round of funding, which totals $61 million:

• $52 million is available in federal funding for projects between $1 million and $6 million. Federal-funded grants will require a 10.27% match.
• At least $3 million is available in federal funding for construction projects within one mile of a school (K-12). Applicants will be required to have a letter from the school detailing the need and how the project addresses that need, as well as meet all other OCP eligibility criteria. This funding is also for projects between $1 million and $6 million and requires a 10.27% match.
• $6 million is available for preliminary planning of 30% design, which details final project alignment, environmental review, 30% design, and a fully fleshed out cost estimate for construction. These are for projects between $400,000 and $750,000, and requires a 10.27% match.

Key dates to remember

• Aug. 1 through Sept. 15, 2024: Pre-Applications accepted (pre-applications are required).
• Nov. 1, 2024 through Jan. 16, 2025: Applications accepted. You must have submitted a pre-application in order to complete an application.
• March 2025: Oregon Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee makes project recommendations to the Oregon Transportation Commission.
• May 2025: Oregon Transportation Commission reviews/approves projects.
• Oct. 2025: Projects awarded.

For questions or more information, please sign up to join for the OCP email updates or contact Oregon Community Paths Program Manager Alan Thompson at 971-375-3903.

Recently, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced the availability of at least $196 million for the FY 2023 Culvert Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) Grant Program, which is part of the FY23-26 Culvert AOP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

The National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Grant Program (Culvert AOP Program) is a competitive grant program that awards grants to eligible entities for projects for the replacement, removal, and repair of culverts or weirs that meaningfully improve or restore fish passage for anadromous fish, which are fish born in freshwater who spend most of their lives in saltwater and migrate back to freshwater to spawn.

The deadline to apply for FY23 funding is September 23, 2024. To apply, please visit grants.gov.

If you have questions or need application assistance please contact Federal Highways Aquatic Organism Passage Coordinator Jen Feola.

The Oregon Department of Transportation's (ODOT) Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Program will hold its annual conference in Albany, Sept. 24 and 25.

This year's conference will be held at the Knife River Training Facility, which is located at 35973 Kennel Rd. SE, Albany, 97322.

Registration is now open.

Please visit ODOT's Traffic Incident Management webpage to learn more about the TIM program.

The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) invite you to an office hours session focused on new requirements in Oregon’s Transportation Planning Rules for metro areas regarding vehicle miles traveled per capita.

Agency staff will discuss calculations for vehicle miles traveled per capita, and how those calculations relate to requirements in the Transportation Planning Rules, including the financially-constrained project list.

Office Hours Information

• September 4, 2024
• 9 to 10:30 a.m.
• Zoom link
• Meeting ID: 882 0964 8145   Passcode: 512073

Mark your calendar for this year's OACES Skills Demo and Safety Conference, which will be held at the Jackson County Expo in Central Point, Sept. 10-12.

Registration is now open. More details, including lodging information, an event schedule, and instructions on how to register and pay by check are now available on the OACES Skills Demo and Safety Conference 



Click here to view photos and learn more about last year's Skills Demo, including the final rankings for all events.

Please save-the-date for the 2025 OACES Chip Seal Conference, which will be held at the Best Western Hood River, on March 18 and 19.

The primary goal of this conference is to allow county road departments to learn about the latest products and technology, and share best practices and ideas regarding chip sealing. You can learn more about the 2023 conference here.

Please keep an eye on the OACES Conference & Meeting page, as more information about the Chip Seal conference will be added closer to the event.

Next month, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will host a new webinar as part of its Equity in Roadway Safety Webinar Series. This series brings together state, regional, and local transportation professionals to share innovative examples of equitably implemented transportation improvements.

The next webinar in the series, Roadway Safety for People Experiencing Homelessness, will be held Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. (PT), and is designed to share equitable strategies and tools that can be integrated into transportation programs and projects to close disparities in roadway fatalities on the way to our shared goal of zero deaths.

Registration is now open.

Find more information and prior webinars in the series on FHWA's Equity in Roadway Safety Webinar Series website.

This past spring, the Certification User Group (CUG) and ODOT's Office of Civil Rights held several Civil Rights for Certified Local Public Agency training sessions.

If you were unable to attend one of the sessions, a recording is now available. You can access the recording, training materials, and knowledge check on the CUG webpage under "User Group Trainings and Workshops."

For questions or more information, please contact ODOT Certification.

The Environmental Learning Center at Clackamas Community College, in partnership with the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL), will offer a Stream Function Assessment Method 2.0 (SFAM) workshop this September.

Course Details

The Stream Function Assessment Method provides a standardized, rapid, function-based method for assessing stream functions statewide. SFAM 2.0, which incorporates recently available data and research to improve standard performance indices for several measures of function, is anticipated to be released this summer and required by DSL this fall. The training team is comprised of DSL staff members who participated in the development of the SFAM assessment methods, and/or reviewed SFAM assessments submitted to DSL.

• Dates:
• Sept. 17 (Tuesday) 9 a.m. – noon | Virtual Classroom
• Sept. 19 (Thursday) 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Field Day in Salem, OR
• Sept. 25 (Wednesday) 9 a.m. – noon | Virtual Classroom
• Location: Virtual & Bush's Pasture Park,
• Address: 890 Mission St. SE, Salem, 97302
• Cost: $780 per attendee

For more information, including how to register for this workshop, please visit the ELC's Stream Function Assessment Method 2.0 webpage or contact Leanne Wells

• DOT helps rural counties find funding with deadline approaching | NACo
• County officials to urge lawmakers to support funding for local roads and bridges during stop in Coos Bay | The World
• 2024 changes to Oregon dig rules proposed | OUNC
• Oregon transportation leaders say they may cut 1,000 jobs if Legislature doesn't approve more money | Oregon Capital Chronicle
• Civil engineers give Oregon's infrastructure a C- | KPTV
• Freeway opponents file yet another lawsuit over I-5 widening project | KLCC
• State Joint Committee on Transportation takes a state-wide transportation tour to gather information to guide 2025 funding package | Ashland News
• Oregon drafts a reboot of the state's flagship climate program | OPB
• Is your government AI-ready? An interactive tracker of AI action | Government Technology
• Oregon DEQ awards more than $8.5 million to 2024 Diesel Emissions Mitigation Grant recipients | DEQ
• Capital Chatter: Now is the time for transportation planning | Oregon Capital Insider

Newsletters of Interest:

• Every Day Counts, Bi-Weekly News -- FHWA
• Innovator, Bi-Monthly News -- FHWA
• Transportation Safety, Monthly News -- ODOT
• The Oregon Examiner, Quarterly News -- OSBEELS
• PLSO News -- PLSO