State legislators ask ODOT to plow roads now; promise money later
By Joe Hathaway on Monday, December 4th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
SALEM – Plow now, pay later. Legislative leaders are taking decisive steps to secure funding and ensure uninterrupted snow plowing on state highways in Eastern Oregon. Facing budget constraints that could have led to reduced snowplowing, sanding, and salting on certain secondary highways, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) received a commitment from legislative leaders.
Senator Elizabeth Steiner a Democrat from the Portland area and co-chair of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee, confirmed to Elkhorn Media Group that a letter has been sent to Governor Tina Kotek, solidifying the commitment to ‘backfill’ the ODOT budget when lawmakers meet in Salem in early February. This commitment guarantees that ODOT can maintain its normal level of snow plowing throughout the winter, crucial for keeping state highways passable, especially in remote rural areas.
“This is a health and safety issue for people who live in Central and Eastern Oregon and I found that pretty untenable. So, I picked up the phone and called ODOT, talked to them about what was going on, and then I called the governor’s transportation advisor and talked to her about what was going on,” says Steiner. “The governor worked with ODOT to put together a package of about 19 million that would allow for the necessary overtime for this winter and next winter for plowing.”
Steiner says the funding commitment extends beyond snowplowing to include painting fog lines on highway shoulders and acquiring new plows as needed. While recognizing legislative limitations in addressing ODOT’s employment challenges, Steiner assured that the necessary funds for snow plowing would be available.
“I’m really careful about not making promises unless I know I can keep them. but in this case, it seemed like a pretty darn easy promise to make,” says Steiner. “We’ve got the money to do it. And it’s not a long term fix, right? We need a new transportation package, which there should be in the 2025 session.”
ODOT told Elkhorn Media Group that it will start making changes as soon as it gets confirmation from the legislature or from Kotek that money is available. That includes authorizing overtime for crews to plow roads and do other winter maintenance.
Earlier concerns raised by ODOT in their Level of Service Reduction reports indicated potential cutbacks on snow plowing for some secondary highways and a reduction in the use of sand and de-icer. Consequences included a warning to travelers about the possibility of being stranded on roads during winter, prompting ODOT to strongly encourage travelers to prepare for such scenarios.
“Having learned about this predicament during visits to various counties, including Malheur, Baker, Umatilla, Deschutes, and Crook, it became evident that rural Oregon was at the forefront of the struggle,” said Steiner. “It seems like basic health and safety, this is what the government ought to be doing.”
