Oregon would prioritize repairs and safety when ranking transportation projects

The Oregon Transportation Commission would prepare a 10-year investment plan and rank transportation projects in five regions. The rules would cover projects in the statewide transportation improvement program, except emergency work and certain repairs identified in state law. The plan would identify expected resources and spending goals. Project selection would consider reliable travel, access for vulnerable people, and protection of farmland and forests. The commission would set road and bridge condition targets. Safety and repair projects would receive the highest scoring weight. Ranking methods, data, and assumptions would be public at least 30 days before a project enters the statewide program. Online reports would show project scores, progress toward goals, and reasons for major departures from the plan. After two consecutive program cycles below regional goals, the commission would review scoring weights and funding distribution and adjust them as needed. Earlier projects would face section 3's planning and ranking rules only if a cost increase approved after the effective date causes their estimated cost to reach or exceed $15 million.

The Oregon Transportation Commission would limit when highway expansion projects can receive funding priority. Oregon's Department of Transportation would evaluate highway expansion projects for safety, emissions, and driving effects. Emergency work and certain repairs identified in state law would be exempt. Added-lane projects generally could not rank ahead of state highway repairs and safety projects when the region's state pavement or bridges fall below condition targets. Commission rules would define exceptions to this ranking limit. One route to funding priority would require no projected increase in deaths, serious injuries, net greenhouse gas emissions, or miles driven compared with leaving the highway unchanged. The alternative would allow projected increases in emissions or miles driven if measures supported by the cost-benefit review prevent a net increase. Those measures would have to be in place by the facility's first public opening. These rules would cover projects included on or after the effective date. Earlier projects would face them only if a later approved cost increase causes their estimated cost to reach or exceed $15 million.

Oregon transportation officials would publish cost-benefit reviews before approving covered highway projects and explain approvals when expected costs exceed benefits. The rules would cover highway modernization or expansion projects proposed for the statewide program and estimated to cost at least $15 million. Certain projects listed in other state laws would be exempt. Reviews would include opportunities forgone by choosing the project and travel-time savings immediately after completion and 10 and 30 years later. The commission could approve a project whose expected costs exceed benefits, but it would have to publish a written explanation. Approval without the required advance publication would block commitments of state money, final design, land purchases, and construction until the commission complies. The 30-day publication requirement would apply before the commission approves a covered project or includes it in the statewide transportation improvement program.