Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) April State Highway Fund (SHF) forecast predicts declining motor fuels sales will drop county revenue by $9.8 million (-2.5%) compared to their last estimate. Additionally, vehicle registration data has shifted the share of SHF apportionments across counties, which has most heavily impacted our forecast for metro counties. 

The Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act has not been reauthorized by congress for Federal Fiscal Year 2024 and beyond (County Fiscal Year 2025 payment). Our partners at the National Association of Counties (NACo) have reported that SRS may be added by the Chair of the House Agriculture Committee to the next Farm Bill. 

If SRS is not reauthorized, counties will receive United States Forest Service (USFS) Timber Harvest Receipts. Timber sales can vary widely from year to year, to smooth out the impact of the commodities market, the USFS calculates payments using a seven year rolling average. Unfortunately, timber harvest receipts have not been calculated between 2014 and 2024, which leaves our forecast with a large margin for error. ...[Read More]

The Oregon Association of County Engineers and Surveyors (OACES) would like to thank everyone who attended this year's OACES Spring Conference at the Sunriver Resort, May 6 through 8. Over the course of two and a half days, more than 80 Oregon road officials and surveyors listened to presentations from industry experts and met to share ideas and information with their colleagues from around the state.

Thank you to all the speakers that joined this year's conference and provided presentations covering a variety of topics, including natural disaster resilience strategies, updates to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCO), public land corners, workforce recruitment strategies, culvert and fish passage programs, load testing for bridges, and legislative updates. In addition, OACES also held its spring Business Meeting that included semi-annual financials, committee reports, and other business.

This year's presentations are available to view and download on the OACES Conferences & Meetings page, under the Past Conference Presentations section.

Please save the date for the OACES Fall Conference, which will be held at Mt Hood's Timberline Lodge, October 7 and 8. If you would like to learn more about other upcoming meetings and events, please visit our OACES Conference & Meeting page.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) required each state to develop a state carbon reduction strategy to support efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from on-road sources.

In order to help states learn from one another as they implement and update their strategies, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Climate Change Center has highlighted notable practices and compiled strategies from across the country on its website. 

To learn about strategies being used across the country, as well as more information about reducing roadway carbon dioxide emissions, please visit the USDOT's Carbon Reduction Program page.

The 2024 Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) Program Planning Grant Application packet is now available. Applications are due July 31, 2024, and award announcements will be mailed in September.

TGM is a joint effort of two state agencies: the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLDC). TGM grants are awarded on an annual basis to provide planning resources to help Oregon jurisdictions address transportation, land use, and growth management issues in their communities.

Eligible applicants include cities, counties, councils of government on behalf of a city or county, tribal governments, and certain special districts. The total awarded amount will be approximately $2.5 million. Award amounts generally range between $150,000 and $300,000. Grantees must provide match in the form of cash, staff time, monetized volunteer time, and direct project expenses.

To help answer your questions about changes to the application process, TGM will host a webinar on Tuesday, June 11 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Registration is now open.

For question or more information about the TGM grant program, please contact DLCD's Bill Holmstrom at 503-986-3205 or ODOT's Elizabeth Ledet at 503-986-3205.

Earlier this month, USDOT announced $23.6 million in cooperative agreements with three National Capacity Builders and six Regional Capacity Builders through the second round of funding for the Thriving Communities Program.

The program provides two years of no-cost, intensive technical assistance to under-resourced and disadvantaged communities to help them identify, develop, and deliver transportation projects to achieve both locally-driven economic development, as well as health, environment, mobility, and access goals. A total of 112 communities nationwide will receive support through the second round of the program, bringing the total number of communities supported to 176 across the two program years.

Click here to learn more about the selected communities and Capacity Builders for FY 2023.

The Certification User Group (CUG) will hold a summer work session next month to allow the CUG community to collaborate in person to help pave the pathways to success. Don’t miss this valuable opportunity to connect, contribute, and learn about CUG policy, program, and funding updates. Click here to view the work session agenda.

Registration is now open. By registering early, you will have the opportunity to influence the selection of the breakout session topics.

Theme:   Sharing Solutions: Pathways to Success

When:    Tuesday, June 25, 2024, 8:30 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Where:   Chemeketa Eola, 215 Doaks Ferry Rd NW, Salem 97304

Format:   In-person

Parking:  Free onsite

For questions regarding CUG's upcoming summer work session, please contact ODOT Certification.

This summer, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Highway Institute (NIH) will offer its Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) course (NHI-142078). Integrating PEL into the transportation planning and environment review processes promotes more informed decision-making and accelerated project delivery.

The two-day, instructor-led training course will help participants:

• Identify the benefits of PEL
• Understand how planning and environmental review processes interface
• Learn how states and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPOs) approach PEL
• Explore how PEL informs the environmental review process
• Summarize how to use PEL in screening and eliminating unreasonable alternatives in planning
• Describe how public involvement supports PEL

Although not required, use of PEL is encouraged by FHWA. PEL helps transportation decision makers consider environmental, community, and economic goals early in the transportation planning process. Practitioners can also use the information, analysis, and products developed during planning to inform the environmental review process. PEL benefits include consistency, improved sharing of information, and savings of costs and time by eliminating duplicative efforts.

Learn more by checking out the PEL handbook and resources on the PEL website. For more information about the PEL course, please contact Sarah Smith at 202-366-2042.

New Roads Scholar classes and other trainings are now available at T2!

The mission of the Oregon Technology Transfer Center (T2) is to foster a safe and efficient transportation system throughout Oregon by offering training, technical assistance, and technology transfer to local transportation agencies.

For more information on T2 programming, Roads Scholar classes, training calendars, publications, and lending library videos, please visit the Oregon T2 Center website.

The Street Trust's 2024 Oregon Active Transportation Summit will be held Wednesday, June 5 through Friday June 7 at the Leftbank Annex in Portland. The theme for this year's summit is Move Oregon Forward!

Registration is now open. This year's summit includes a myriad of presentations, workshops, and field trips to bring attendees together to problem-solve and build community. Participants should expect a full schedule of fun and interesting activities.

For more information, please visit the Oregon Active Transportation Summit page.

• Transportation Package Tour to focus on maintaining a safe, functional, efficient system | Joint Committee on Transportation
• 2025 Transportation Package and Statewide Tour | Gov. Kotek, House Speaker, and Senate President
• Legislators to hold Transportation Outreach Tour | Lincoln City Homepage
• State releases dates and cities for 2025 transportation package 'Conversations Tour' | BikePortland
• Bridge projects across U.S. offer clues to what may replace Baltimore's fallen span | OPB
• ODOT's Eastern Oregon ADA curb ramp upgrades on track for completion | Elkhorn Media Group
• Desperate for freeway funds, transportation commission mulls all bad option | Bike Portland
• Rose quarter freeway project hit with new lawsuit | KGW
• Portland voters renew gas tax for road repairs | OregonLive

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