Hansell

LA GRANDE — Decreasing revenues and a steady increase in prices have forced the Oregon Department of Transportation to make some drastic cuts, including cutting back on winter road maintenance.

Matt Noble, public affairs specialist for ODOT, said the department’s latest revenue forecast shows gas tax revenue peaking in 2024, with an accelerating decline in total gas tax revenues occurring afterward.

“We face the need to reduce spending now by 5% to ensure our budgets are balanced through that period,” Noble said in an email. “In addition, high inflation has driven up the cost of doing business substantially. As a result, the level of service we can deliver with the same dollar is less than it once was.”

Ken Patterson, ODOT Region 5 area manager who oversees Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Baker, Grant, Harney and Malheur counties, said the department has been preparing for a decline in gas tax revenue for a number of years as more fuel-efficient vehicles and electric vehicles take to the road.

ODOT’s budget for the 2023-25 budget cycle is about $6.12 billion, down from about $6.68 billion in the 2021-23 biennium.

On top of that are higher fuel prices, higher prices for parts and major infrastructure projects to accomplish.

“This means we have to cut back,” Patterson said.

He said the agency previously could absorb cuts without affecting operations and maintenance, but that’s no longer the situation. These cuts are on the front lines and will affect the public, he said.

Operations and maintenance also only receive state funding, Patterson said, and cannot take federal money. ODOT looked hard at where the department could make cuts to these functions.

The agency, for example, is going to stop retracing fog lines on roads with less than 3,000 vehicles per day.

“That’s because that’s what the federal standard calls for,” he said. “So ODOT has been doing more than it needed. So it’s looking at where to dial back and still meet guidelines. We’re kind of getting back to what we have to do.”

The department is even narrowing its width for spraying herbicides in the summer to save money.

A big portion of the department’s budget is for labor. Patterson said that means looking at staffing levels. In Eastern Oregon, he said, ODOT is forgoing the hiring of 11 open positions.

“Some of our crews are really small and can’t take any more reductions, so we’re targeting where those vacancies can occur,” he said.

Hiring workers also has been a problem for some regions of the state. Southeastern Oregon, he said, is remote and should have five workers, but ODOT has only three there now, so it’s dropping night work in that area.

“It’s hard to find people who want to move to such remote locations,” Patterson said.

A bigger revenue mix

ODOT senior leadership during the 2023 Legislature met with lawmakers to explain the department’s situation and build awareness as well as to study different funding scenarios, which included a road-usage charge to augment the gas tax.

The operation and maintenance funding mix consists of the state gas tax at 38 cents a gallon, the commercial vehicle weight tax and registration and fees. Patterson said the agency is looking at how to mix in tolling and a road-usage charge.

OReGO is the state’s pilot program for users to pay 1.9 cents per mile they drive. That money goes right into the state highway fund. According to www.myorego.org, it’s a volunteer program, and participants can receive a credit for fuel tax and remote emissions testing, and drivers of electric vehicles are eligible for reduced registration fees.

State Sen. Lynn Findley, a Republican from Vale whose district includes Baker, Grant, Malheur, Harney, Lake and Crook counties as well as portions of Deschutes and Jefferson counties, said he opposes ODOT’s proposed cuts in maintenance.

Although Findley, a member of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, acknowledges the agency has budget challenges, he contends that ODOT officials need to reconsider their priorities.

The agency’s plan, Findley believes, puts the safety of rural Oregonians at an unnecessary risk.

“This is the wrong thing to do,” he said.

ODOT is warning that due to reduced maintenance, roads could be less safe this winter. The agency recommends travelers carry a fully stocked emergency kit with food and water, a phone charger and extra clothing, and to refuel or recharge often.

Deferred maintenance

It’s more than just plowing and sanding. The state is going to defer pothole maintenance and chip seals.

“We are reducing pavement maintenance for low-volume roads — highways averaging less than 3,000 vehicles daily,” a report from ODOT said.

Roughly 66% of Eastern Oregon’s state highways are low-volume roads, according to ODOT. Motorists can expect rougher roads with more potholes and deeper ruts. During heavy rainfall, drivers should expect pooling water in the ruts.

“If conditions deteriorate enough, we may reduce speeds to give people more time and opportunity to navigate rough stretches of highway,” ODOT said.

The state will also only restripe faded edge lines on certain higher-trafficked state roads, such as Interstate 84. ODOT also plans to cut roadside maintenance, including debris and graffiti removal.

‘A major issue’

The transportation department warned legislators during the 2023 session that budget trimming could be in the works. Legislators could take another look at the optional OReGO road-usage program; they also could increase the gas tax. Another policy option would be indexing vehicle registration fees to inflation. None of those ideas got traction in the 2023 session.

“ODOT has funding issues,” Oregon Sen. Bill Hansell, a Republican from Athena, said, noting that with the rapid increase of high mileage vehicles and electric vehicles, ODOT’s revenue has “nose-dived.”

“It’s going to be one of the major issues the Legislature — for the foreseeable future — will have to address,” he said. “There isn’t enough income to maintain and to do everything ODOT is trying to do.”

Hansell said he believes the Legislature will discuss the issue when it reconvenes for its short session in February.

“I think there will be serious discussion,” he said.

Gov. Tina Kotek agreed that the state highway system is facing a structural funding challenge that legislators will need to address when they take up a transportation package in 2025.

“Our office is also exploring what options may exist in the immediate to reduce impacts to Oregonians,” Kotek added. “In the meantime, I encourage Oregonians to contact their legislators to encourage them to find long-term solutions that will ensure our state transportation infrastructure is meeting the needs of Oregon families, businesses and visitors.”