Newberg-Dundee bypass article + photos

[Sub-Urbanite]

Won't open until 2017, but underway!

http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2015/05/newberg-dundee_bypass_in_orego.html#incart_most-read_

[Bickendan]

This and the Sunrise Corridor (Phase I under construction in Clackamas) are the two projects I'm watching with interest.
That, and the Alaskan in Seattle.

[nexus73]

99W should have been 4-laned to McMinnville decades ago.  The current bypass is just one of three phases and the other two are currently unfunded with no timetable to complete.  There used to be a time in our nation's history when we Got Things Done.  Now we just drag the deal out.  Oregon in 1965 was the first of the three states that had I-5 in it to complete the freeway.  Imagine that happening with the ODOT and state government of today.

Rick

[Sub-Urbanite]

There used to be a time in our nation's history when we Got Things Done.

There was also a time when the federal gas tax was 40 percent higher than it is today. Correlation in this case is causation.

[mcarling]

There was also a time when the federal gas tax was 40 percent higher than it is today. Correlation in this case is causation.

I don't see any reason why this road (which I favor) should be funded by anyone outside Oregon.  It's not significantly used for interstate commerce.  In my opinion, the Oregon gas tax should fund it.

[Sub-Urbanite]

I don't see any reason why this road (which I favor) should be funded by anyone outside Oregon.  It's not significantly used for interstate commerce.  In my opinion, the Oregon gas tax should fund it.

But the same state gas tax hike that funded Newberg-Dundee is also paying for a bunch of things the feds didn't pay for, like the 205/213 interchange in Oregon City, the Sunrise Corridor, the Troutdale Interchange, the US 26 widening & interchange rebuilds in Washington County, the Woodburn interchange... without federal resources to pay for those in full (or even in greater part), state gas taxes have to be diverted to what used to be federal issues.

[mcarling]

I don't see any reason why this road (which I favor) should be funded by anyone outside Oregon.  It's not significantly used for interstate commerce.  In my opinion, the Oregon gas tax should fund it.

But the same state gas tax hike that funded Newberg-Dundee is also paying for a bunch of things the feds didn't pay for, like the 205/213 interchange in Oregon City, the Sunrise Corridor, the Troutdale Interchange, the US 26 widening & interchange rebuilds in Washington County, the Woodburn interchange... without federal resources to pay for those in full (or even in greater part), state gas taxes have to be diverted to what used to be federal issues.

In my opinion, all of those should be funded by the Oregon gas tax.  I cannot see any reason why people outside Oregon should have to pay for any of them.  Widening I-5 or I-84 or replacing the Interstate Bridge would, in my opinion, be suitable projects for federal assistance.

The problem, as I see it, is that funds from the Oregon gas tax are siphoned off to pay for things other than roads.

[Sub-Urbanite]

The problem, as I see it, is that funds from the Oregon gas tax are siphoned off to pay for things other than roads.

That's actually illegal. Gas taxes, tolls, etc must be used for highway purposes, per Article IX, section 3A of the Oregon Constitution.

[Tarkus]

The problem, as I see it, is that funds from the Oregon gas tax are siphoned off to pay for things other than roads.

That's actually illegal. Gas taxes, tolls, etc must be used for highway purposes, per Article IX, section 3A of the Oregon Constitution.

If that is the case, in theory, a whole crapload of lawmakers should be in deep doo-doo.  It's been happening since at least the 1980s, when Goldschmidt was around.

[Bickendan]

Shuffling money from the Mt Hood Freeway to the MAX I can understand, but if Goldschmidt shuffled more beyond that... (and yes, I know Goldschmidt wasn't governor when he helped kill the Mt Hood...)

[Sub-Urbanite]

Oregon's gas tax is paying in $1.09 billion in its 2015-17 budget. ODOT will in turn spend $2 billion on highways (with the additional revenue coming from federal pass-through, weight/mile tax, etc). There's a lot of other money flowing into ODOT's budget — but the $1 billion off gas taxes can only be used on roads.

A big chunk of the state money for non-road transportation — bike lanes, transit, etc — comes from lottery and FTA money. 5% of ODOT's budget is for transit and rail. That "other stuff" gets funded from a hodgepodge of other sources.

[mcarling]

I've spoken to Oregon legislators about it and their understanding is consistent with Bickendan's, that gas tax money is used to pay for MAX.

[Sub-Urbanite]

Pretty sure any state money for MAX is lottery money. But the Yellow and Red lines got zero state dollars. Certainly no gas tax for operating funds.