OREGON ECONOMIC & BRIDGE OPTIONS STUDY The problem is not just the bridges, or the freight system, It is about Oregon’s economy and quality of life. FHWA Freight Seminars Tara Weidner, PB Consult May 19, 2004

TACKLING OREGON’S BRIDGE PROBLEM Cost to fix over 500 cracking bridges: $4.7B Reasons for cracking: design, age, loads Used ODOT’s Statewide Land Use-Transport Model to evaluate alternatives: –State & regional economy –Communities & livability –Environment Investment strategy based on: –Bridge costs –Economic costs –Community & regional Impacts

OREGON ECONOMY 2000 Production of Goods & Services By Industry: – One third service-based – 15% Agriculture/wood, low growth – Hi-tech, concentrated high growth By Area of the State:: – Half of state production in Portland Metro – One quarter in larger Willamette Valley – Portland end market/access to external markets

ECONOMY Growth in Production of Goods & Services

WITHOUT BRIDGE INVESTMENT Industry lightens trucks, makes more trips 80,000 lb restriction impacts 30% truck tons 64,000 lb restriction impacts 90% truck tons –8-fold increase in state economic impacts –Economic impact $14B in 2025, $122B over 25 years –Potential employment loss of up to 88,000 by 2025 Safety & maintenance costs from trucks on local roads Increased truck miles on unsuitable roads: –Local roads and city streets –Restrictive roadway geometry –Motor Carrier restrictions for oversize vehicles –Environmentally sensitive areas

REGIONAL FINDINGS Most impacts to those already paying high shipping costs Low shipping costs decentralizes activity -- longer trips, more truck VMT Any investment improves state economy Portland is market/link to external state markets Investment location has regional consequences: –Large urban areas and borders (southeast, northwest) are advantaged by restricted transportation system –Rogue Valley/Southwest have bulk of cracked bridges –Fixing interstates alone benefits state economy but ignores connections to central/coastal Oregon economies

OTHER KEY FINDINGS No crisis today but immediate action necessary to avoid a future crisis Improve routes parallel to the interstates to accommodate detoured heavy freight loads The order in which roads are opened to heavy loads affects regional economy and livability One deficient bridge impedes the entire corridor – ODOT shifts from worst-first to corridor approach

ODOT RECOMMENDATION $2.5B, initial 10-year strategy to $4.7B bridge problem Addresses detour routes before interstate construction Over 90 percent of the statewide economic benefit of repairing all bridges Often better livability than repairing all bridges

STAGE 1 $92M, 48 bridges

STAGE 2 $657M, 161 bridges

STAGE 3 $567M, 147 bridges

STAGE 4 $234M, 94 bridges

STAGE 5 $116M, 46 bridges

LESSONS LEARNED Input-Output based model is a great tool for evaluating long-distance truck flows Model is economically driven, so transport cost increases have economic and land use implications Model quantifies economic tradeoffs and provides valuable perspective to the decision process Integrated analysis is a good process to inform high profile policy discussions Non-technical communication and good visualization is critical

FUNDING PACKAGE 2003 legislature approved 10 year $2.5B program Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA) III –$1.3 billion for state bridges –$300 million for local bridges –$361 million for local maintenance & preservation –$500 million for state modernization “The greatest investment in our transportation infrastructure since World War II" – Governor Kulongoski

PROGRAM STATUS Environmental & Engineering baseline studies –Prepared for all OTIA III bridges - targeted completion April 2004 –Environmental regulatory compliance strategies in place Stage 1A begun with existing funds –Targeted for construction by 2005 –37 bridges to accommodate heavy/oversize trucks Stage 2 construction begins in 2005, using Stage 1A as detour

PROGRAM STATUS Program Management (PM) firm hired to manage overall OTIA III program –91% OTIA III costs to be managed by PM Firm –9% (42 bridges) managed by ODOT Regions OTIA III will coordinate with other programmed projects On-going bridge evaluation and corridor staging/prioritization

END Economic & Bridge Options Report (Dec 2002) Oregon Modeling Improvement Program