Oregon says it will soon run out of money for transportation
The Oregon Department of Transportation is asking the Legislature for more funding to operate and maintain existing highways.
UPDATE 7/18/24: Added more external links and further reading.
BEST believes we should first ask Oregonians what they believe is worth paying for—and who decides—before asking how they want to pay. These are the fundamental questions, in order or importance:
- Outcomes: Who benefits?
- Governance: Who decides?
- Revenues: Who pays?
Driving this discussion are concerns that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) doesn’t have enough funding to maintain and operate the highway system we have, and that the gas tax has become obsolete.
The chart above shows that ODOT allocates only 9% of its budget to maintenance and operations but 52% to capital investments. Couldn’t the Legislature shift its priorities to provide more to the former and less to the latter?
ODOT says, “The gas tax has served Oregonians well for years, but the problem with using it to fund a transportation system is that cars are using less gas as they become more efficient.” Couldn’t the gas tax be indexed to 1) average fuel efficiency and 2) inflation so that revenues are stable?
In the coming months, BEST will be focusing on what transportation investments deliver the best value to all Oregonians, and on how priorities are decided. If we see there are good investments needing funding, we will look to see what are fair, efficient, and adequate sources of revenue.
To learn more, see the headlines below under “Further reading.” They paint a picture of the conflicting forces at play as Oregon grapples with the challenges of providing transportation for everyone.
If you wish to be part of this discussion, join our Cycle of Change Legislation working group.
Further reading
- More Oregon bridges rated ‘poor’ condition as funding gap widens, according to report (Register-Guard, 4/13/24)
- Interview with Cassie Wilson, author of a new report that’s required reading for transportation advocates (BikePortland, 3/26/24)
- Oregon officials roll back tolling projects, but keep their options open (OPB, 3/20/24)
- Gov. Tina Kotek shelves plans for I-5, I-205 tolls in Portland area (Oregonian, 3/15/24)
- Kotek: No tolling now, but maybe tolling later (Portland Tribune, 3/14/24)
- As Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek puts freeway tolls on hold, others share their thoughts (OPB, 3/13/24)
- Monkey-wrenching road pricing (Joe Cortright, City Observatory, 3/14/24)
- Gov. Kotek tells Oregon transportation officials to end work on Portland-area tolls (Portland Business Journal, 3/12/24)
- Kotek tells ODOT: Scrap regional tolling plans (BikePortland, 3/11/24)
- Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek plans to halt tolling work indefinitely (Portland Tribune, 3/11/24)
- Save-the-Dates: State Transportation Package Legislative Listening Tour (Association of Oregon Counties, 2/28/24)
- Our newest Gerhardt report digs deep on state transportation policy (1000 Friends of Oregon, 2/20/24)
- Why an obscure highway cost study is suddenly in the spotlight (BikePortland, 2/13/24)
- 15 Minutes With – Freeway Fighter & Economist Joe Cortright (video, 2/5/24)
- Three big flaws in ODOT’s Highway Cost Allocation Study (Joe Cortright, City Observatory, 2/6/24)
- Truckers Sue Kotek, Lawmakers and State of Oregon, Alleging Hundreds of Millions in Overcharges on Road Tax (Willamette Week, 1/30/24)
- AOC/LOC Transportation Funding Forum Update (Association of Oregon Counties, 1/25/24)
- LOC Co-Hosting Transportation Funding Forum January 26 (League of Oregon Cities, 1/19/24)
- State representative calls for holistic audit of ODOT in light of ballooning project costs (Rep. Annessa Hartman, Portland Business Tribune, 1/16/24)
- Retired ODOT deputy director: Oregon tolling proposal is running a red light (Cam Gilmour, Portland Business Tribune, 1/16/24)
- ODOT: Winter travel will be safer this year thanks to Gov. Kotek, legislative leaders (Kris Strickler, Portland Business Tribune, 1/2/24)
- Republican lawmakers press for special session to reassess Oregon’s vehicle taxes (OPB, 12/18/23)
- Oregon Transportation Forum Annual Meeting Brings Ideas and Cautious Optimism Ahead of Legislative Sessions (Oregon Transit Association, 12/5/23)
- Governor Kotek, President Wagner and Speaker Rayfield Announce Funding for Winter Maintenance (media release, Governor’s Office, 12/4/23)
- ODOT says shortage of funds, road conditions could be worse this winter (Portland Business Tribune, 11/10/23)
- ODOT Snow Job: Give us more money, or we’ll stop plowing your roads (Joe Cortright, City Observatory, 11/8/23)
- AOC/LOC Transportation Funding Forum Continues (Association of Oregon Counties, 10/24/23)
- AOC/LOC Transportation Forum (video, 10/2/23)
- ODOT funding reaches dire state of affairs (Sisters Nugget, 10/18/23)
- AOC and LOC Convene Local Governments on Transportation Funding (Association of Oregon Counties, 8/28/23)
- ODOT: The gas tax is fading away and taking maintenance down with it (Kris Strickler, Portland Business Tribune, 8/23/23)
- Why I’m optimistic about Oregon’s transportation future (Rep. Khanh Pham, BikePortland, 8/1/23)
- Q&A with our 2023 Gerhardt Intern, Cassie Wilson (1000 Friends of Oregon, 7/28/23)
- ODOT budget woes could impact Sisters (Sisters Nugget, 5/24/23)
- ODOT looks to DMV fees to plug deficit; bigger budget problems loom (Oregonian, 5/15/23)
- ODOT: Modern tolling is a new approach to reduce traffic in the Portland metro area (Kris Strickler, Portland Business Tribune, 4/13/23)
- Keeping the roads open at all costs (Sisters Nugget, 3/14/23)
- Up to $7.5 billion for Interstate Bridge replacement project? Time to rightsize for reality (Rep. Khanh Pham, Oregonian, 12/18/22)
- ODOT’s “Fix-it first” fraud (Joe Cortright, City Observatory, 7/28/22)
- ODOT’s Reign of Error: Chronic highway cost overruns (Joe Cortright, City Observatory, 6/9/22)
- ODOT is planning for a future without the gas tax (Kris Strickler, Portland Business Tribune, 2/15/22)
External links
- Joint Committee on Transportation (Oregon Legislature, 2024 Regular Session)
- Meeting (2/22/24)
- State Transportation System Needs (presentation, ODOT)
- Highway Cost Allocation Study Background (Lindsay Baker, ODOT)
- Meeting (2/6/24)
- The Legacy of HB 2017 (presentation, ODOT)
- Multimodal Transportation Beginning Conversation Document Draft #12 Action Plan (Sen. Gorsek, Rep. McLain)
- Meeting (2/22/24)
- Joint Committee on Transportation (Oregon Legislature, 2023-2024 Interim)
- Meeting (1/12/24)
- Meeting (11/8/23)
- ODOT Projects Update (presentation, ODOT)
- Structural Challenges in Funding + Maintaining the Transportation System (presentation, ODOT)
- Meeting (9/29/23)
- Structural Challenges in Funding + Maintaining the Transportation System (presentation, ODOT)
- HB 2017 Section 75 Study (presentation, ODOT)
- 2023-2025 Highway Cost Allocation Study Summary (presentation, Mark McMullen, Oregon State Economist)
- 2023-2025 Oregon Highway Cost Allocation Study (ECONorthwest presentation)
- Oregon Transportation Commission HB2017 Section 75 Study (ECONorthwest, Sept. 2023)
- Joint Committee on Transportation (Oregon Legislature, 2023 Regular Session)
- Meeting (3/28/23)
- Oregon Department of Transportation Funding Follow-Up (presentation, ODOT)
- Meeting (3/14/23)
- Oregon Department of Transportation Funding Follow-Up (presentation, ODOT)
- Meeting (3/7/23)
- Transportation Funding Outlook (presentation, ODOT)
- Meeting (3/28/23)
- Oregon Department of Transportation