News

Oregon’s stimulus spending sparks debate

Government officials, groups disagree on transportation construction projects

Justin Carinci
Daily Journal of Commerce
July 1, 2009

When Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood praised Oregon for starting federal stimulus projects ahead of schedule, they singled out the Highway 97 project in Deschutes County. That $15.5 million project will widen the highway and create an interchange to get cars on and off the highway easier.

It’s a great example for two different groups, and for opposite reasons. State and federal officials say the project will improve safety, reduce congestion and put people to work. But some planning and conservation groups call the project an unnecessary road expansion at a time when other roads need repair and people need public transportation.

Planning advocate Smart Growth America joined 1000 Friends of Oregon in criticizing states for adding lanes and building new roads with stimulus money. The money would be better spent, they said in a report, fixing existing roads and expanding public transit systems.

Money raised from Oregon’s gas tax must go to road building, 1000 Friends of Oregon spokesman Eric Stachon said. But stimulus money isn’t similarly limited.

“To the extent that we have federal funds where there’s some discretion on how they could be spent, we should spend those on non-road projects,” Stachon said.

That’s a philosophical question, Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman Patrick Cooney said, noting that states didn’t have much time for philosophy when making stimulus decisions. The highest priority was to create jobs as quickly as possible.

“Depending on whom you talk to, we should have spent the money according to their priorities,” Cooney said. “But the governor said, ‘We’re going to provide jobs with these projects as fast as we can.’ ”

Consider Highway 97, for example. The project will make the highway safer by adding lanes, Cooney said. But its $13.6 million portion of stimulus money will also create 190 jobs over the course of the project, according to ODOT’s standard multiplier of 14 jobs created per $1 million spent on highway projects.

Stachon said he can’t quibble with improving safety, which is the goal for the Highway 97 project. But Oregon should focus on fixing its ailing roads and bridges before adding new lanes, he said.

“We have a backlog on maintenance and repair on our bridges and roads that we’re not keeping up with,” he said. “We need to do a better job of investing in maintenance and repairs before we add new capacity.”

Jobs may be the first task, Stachon said, but the stimulus package identifies eight other goals for projects, including improving public transportation, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding sprawl. Projects focusing on public transit, bicycling and walking better meet those goals, he said.

Those concerns go beyond the scope of the stimulus package, however. While transit agencies are using federal stimulus money to expand their systems, they don’t necessarily have all the money needed to operate the systems.

“At a time when transit systems are seeing increased ridership, it’s imperative that we do what we need to, to invest in the … transit system and make it as viable as we can,” Stachon said. “Having a viable public transportation system is absolutely crucial for our communities, both from an economic as well as an environmental standpoint.”

Oregon actually ranks fourth in the nation for the percentage of stimulus money used for non-road projects, according to a report released Monday by Smart Growth America. These projects make up 16.7 percent of the state’s stimulus projects.

Oregon’s view of the stimulus package was broader than most states’, Cooney said, because it included rail, marine and port projects along with those for cyclists and pedestrians. The stimulus plan presented a tremendous opportunity, he said, but not long-range planning to reshape the state’s transportation systems.

Most stimulus road projects do make maintenance or safety fixes, Cooney said. In places where stimulus money is being used to pay for construction of more lanes, crews were already working on other improvements to those same roads.

“It’s a good jump start on providing jobs,” Cooney said. “If we had to start from scratch on contracting projects, we wouldn’t get the projects done on time.”