Much of the estimated $1.2 billion in transportation funding allocated to Oregon from the federal government will focus on safety, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) said Monday.
According to the ODOT, money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be spent to reinforce existing efforts to improve safety, as well as add new efforts.
“This additional investment will allow us to implement more safety projects statewide,” State Traffic Safety Engineer Christina McDaniel-Wilson said. “This means that 50 more fatalities or serious injuries and 750 more lower-severity crashes can be prevented over the life of these projects.”
ODOT said it has already identified several major investment areas to improve safety for Oregon’s communities, including $45 million in additional funding for the All Roads Transportation Safety Programs; nearly $250 million in direct investment to repair or replace Oregon’s bridges; $94 million for a new PROTECT program that would enhance the transportation system’s resilience to disasters, including adapting to climate change; and as much as $200 million in additional funding for cities, counties and metropolitan planning organizations for safety, bicycle/pedestrian, bridge and other community priorities.
“Much of the additional funds for safety will support our All Roads Transportation Safety program, which uses data and national research to select the best projects that will effectively reduce the most fatal and serious injury crashes on all roads in Oregon,” State Traffic Services Engineer Angela Kargel said. “IIJA also includes a new effort to address pedestrian and bicycle safety needs, so we’ll see more of those projects in the coming years as well.”