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Waiting for more highway work? Don�t State transportation budget holds line, barely By Dani Dodge Voters knew that failure of a gas tax measure in May would mean long delays in completing local highway projects. But it�s also going to mean bumpier roads, more traffic congestion and longer lines at the driver�s license counter, a state transportation commissioner says. Meeting last week, the Oregon Transportation Commission voted to shift money away from new construction and lower-priority programs to concentrate on maintaining Oregon�s existing highway system. That means there�s no relief in sight for drivers on congested stretches of Highway 62 between Medford and White City. And those fretting over a proposed Jacksonville bypass can stop worrying. It won�t happen anytime soon. "It�s really grim. This is the end," said Stuart Foster, a Medford attorney who sits on the Oregon Transportation Commission. "We haven�t had a fund increase since 1991." Foster noted that population growth is explosive, especially in terms of auto use, but that Oregonians are decidedly opposed to an increase in the gas tax to finance highway maintenance and expansion. "We�ve got the message loud and clear from the public that they want to limit funding of transportation, so we will downsize the operation and live within our means and try to protect the infrastructure." The Oregon Transportation Commission met last week and approved the Department of Transportation�s $1.74 billion budget for 2001-2003. It also drafted transportation funding projections through 2005. The commission needed an additional $141 million to prevent further declines in the state�s existing highways and bridges, and had to shift money away from projects not already in the pipeline toward preservation. Foster said the commission is dealing with flat revenues from gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees, and has no hope of funding future projects after the defeat of Measure 82, the proposed 5-cent-a-gallon gas-tax increase. Foster said local projects already begun will probably be completed, including overhauls of the north and south Medford interchanges, and the current work extending Highway 238 from the Big Y intersection toward Jacksonville. But Phase 2 of the Highway 238 project � which would have connected the extension from near Rossanley Lane to Jacksonville Highway � is pretty likely dead, said Foster. "The infamous Jacksonville bypass that will be done in the next millennium," Foster said. "Projects like that can�t be on anyone�s radar screen. We don�t have money to fix the godawful problem on 62. How can we even consider doing something in Jacksonville?" Foster said it was important in downsizing to concentrate on preserving the infrastructure currently in place. "If we don�t protect our infrastructure, future generations will pay a tremendous amount to restore it," Foster said. In the meantime, though, everything else will suffer. Money for things like future greenway paths has dried up. Foster said the commission seriously considered closing 30 DMV offices around the state, but instead decided to let them continue to absorb cuts they�ve already been hit with this year. ODOT is already stretching its dollars as much as it can, Foster said. "I think you�ll see the weeds grow a little taller along the freeways,�� Foster said. "And the litter will start collecting a little more as we concentrate on bridges." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA