ODOT Says That $1.2 Billion From Feds Will 'Save Oregon Lives'

OREGON CITY, OR — The money hasn't arrived yet but the Oregon Department of Transportation is making plans on how to spend $1.2 billion that's coming from the federal government. While there's a lot of details to be worked out, the plans center around one word.

Safety.

"This additional investment will allow us to implement more safety projects statewide," State Traffic Safety Engineer Christina McDaniel-Wilson said.

"This means that 50 more fatalities or serious injuries and 750 more lower-severity crashes can be prevented over the life of these projects."

The money is coming from the recently signed into law, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

ODOT says that they will spend the next several months reaching out to Oregonians to get input on what kind of projects the state should be focusing.

In the meantime, they have several areas where they see some of the money going:

• $45 million in additional funding for the All Roads Transportation Safety Program;
• More than a quarter billion dollars in additional direct investment in repairing and replacing Oregon’s bridges, making them safer during a major earthquake and for recovery after a major disaster;
• $94 million for a new PROTECT Program to enhance the transportation system’s resilience to disasters, including adapting to climate change; and
• Potentially as much as $200 million in additional funding for cities, counties, metropolitan planning organizations for safety, bicycle/pedestrian, bridge, and other community priorities.

"Much of the additional funds for safety will support our All Roads Transportation Safety program, which uses data and national research to select the best projects that will effectively reduce the most fatal and serious injury crashes on all roads in Oregon," State Traffic Services Engineer Angela Kargel said.

Kargel said that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide the state money to develop projects to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.