No, ODOT Can’t Use Cash From Projects to Avert Layoffs

Bracing for impacts: ODOT layoffs may cause impassable rural roads, dangerous conditions

According to Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) manager Dan Metz, the incoming impacts to rural roadways as ODOT strives to maintain vital highways in the midst of layoffs will be like losing a dying limb.

No, ODOT can’t use cash from projects to avert layoffs

“While the funding crisis is having a profound effect on ODOT’s maintenance and operations, most construction projects will continue as planned.”

ODOT can’t use cash from projects to avert layoffs

When lawmakers unveiled the details of House Bill 2025 in early June, the long-awaited transportation funding package earmarked money for “anchor” capital projects. Those included the expansion of Interstate 5 at the Rose Quarter, seismic upgrades of the Abernathy/Interstate 205 Bridge, the Newberg-Dundee bypass, and the Center Street Bridge in Salem. The bill’s architects paired that funding with a stream of cash to pay for the agency’s routine…