The Interstate 5 freeway through North Portland in the Albina neighborhood, April 9, 2021. (Kristyna Wentz-Graff/OPB)
Officials with the Oregon Department of Transportation say they will have to slash more than 1,000 jobs if lawmakers don’t address the agency’s financial woes during next year’s legislative session.
Transportation leaders painted a grim picture of what faces the state’s road system during a Thursday meeting with the Oregon Transportation Commission, during which commissioners “reluctantly” approved ODOT’s budget request for 2025-2027.
Among the budget’s most glaring problems, according to ODOT: a projected revenue shortfall of more than $354 million in 2025-2027, requiring a reduction of more than $101 million in services and supplies, such as striping lanes and deicing roads.
ODOT’s budget also calls for cutting the size of ODOT’s workforce by almost a fifth – from 4,939 to 3,923.
“I hope this doesn’t come to pass,” said Lee Beyer, the commission’s vice chair. “It shouldn’t. I don’t think this is a budget … that the public wants. And I believe that, if they understand it, they will urge the legislature to take action to make sure we don’t end up with a budget that looks like this.”