10/14/1985 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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" .- e M E M 0 RAN DUM October 18, 1985 TO: Mayor and City Council ./'./ FROM: Dave Reinhard~ Transportation Engineer - Department of Public Works SUBJECT: ODOT SIX-YEAR HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM As you know, the Oregon Department of Transportation has begun the process of updating their Six-Year Highway Improvement Program (HIP). State staff and the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) will be developing a draft program this fall and winter. The draft is expected to be released for public review in early 1986. The OTC will hold public hearings next spring, and adopt a new HIP by June, for fiscal years 1987 through 1992. . Governor's Modernization Proqram CGMPl e The GMP will be a new component of the Six-Year HIP, comprising about $200 million in additional highway construction funded by the state's 2 cent gas tax increase. As we reported to the Council at your work session of June 24, this additional funding is an extemely important ingredient in our efforts to obtain a larger share of state highway dollars for this area. At that meeting we discussed with you the need to focus on a few high-priority projects, namely the 6th-7th corridor, Highway 99 North, and Franklin Blvd/Riverfront Access improvements. In July we accompanied Mayor Obie to Roseburg and Portland, and Councilor Hansen to Salem to present testimony at OTC hearings on proposed criteria for the Modernization Program. In addition to oral testimony and a brief slide presentation we delivered the attached five-page letter. We used the opportun- ity not only to comment on the state's proposed criteria but also to describe our own high-priority projects. To the previous list we added a fifth project; the southerly extension of Beltline Road, from West 11th to 18th Avenue at Willow Creek. We felt this project would be a good candidate for GMP funding, which does allow these state dollars to be spent on County and City facilities. Need for a Metro Area Proqram Our discussions with the public works staff of Springfield and Lane County, and with our legislative consultant Grattan Kerans, .has led us to the conclu- sion that a "united front" is required for this metropolitan area to receive a more equitable portion of state highway resources. There are two basic - reasons for this conclusion.