SALEM, OR — The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) have finished distributing more than $2.1 billion across different programs in the 2024-2027 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

The OTC recently approved $255 million in non-highway funding for bicycle, pedestrian, and transit programs — a record level and an increase of nearly $100 million over the last STIP. This investment follows the agency’s Strategic Action Plan, which focuses on increasing investments in transportation options to improve multimodal mobility, enhance equity, and address climate change.

ODOT’s Public Transportation Division convened a group of stakeholders from various advisory committees to work through how to best spend the non-highway funding. At a recent meeting, the commission supported the recommendation that came forward from this stakeholder group. Highlights of the funding include:

• $36 million for pedestrian and bicycle paths off the roadway that connect to communities — an increase from the $6 million provided in the previous STIP.
• $55 million for Safe Routes to School infrastructure projects to help children walk and bike safely to school, and $4 million for complementary Safe Routes education and encouragement programs.
• $45 million for a new Bicycle/Pedestrian Strategic program to address priority active transportation improvements on state highways.
• $25.5 million under the state's 1 percent set-aside of State Highway Fund dollars for bicycle and pedestrian projects on ODOT roads.

• $15 million for a new Transit Vehicle Replacement program for vehicles in rural transit fleets that have reached the end of their normal life.
• $12 million (an increase of $6 million) for the Mass Transit program that helps maintain urban bus fleets in a state of good repair.
• $50 million in funding — an increase of one-third over past levels — for transit service benefitting seniors and individuals with disabilities. This federal funding in the STIP supplements other federal and state funds.
• $7.5 million for Transportation Options programs focused on reducing single occupancy vehicle trips by managing demand across the transportation system.

The commission also supported ODOT’s allocation of funding among Fix-It programs, the largest amount in the STIP. The final allocation of $800 million is distributed as follows:

• $372 million for bridge and seismic projects.
• $301 million for pavement preservation.
• $77 million for operations capital projects — Intelligent Transportation Systems, unstable slopes, signs, signals, and lights.
• $50 million for culverts.

With funding allocation among categories and programs now complete, the work on the STIP will shift to working out details about specific programs and then begin the process of selecting projects. This work will continue for nearly two years, culminating in the release of the draft STIP for public comment in early 2023 with final approval by the OTC that summer.