Gov. Kotek and Legislative Leaders Promise $19 Million to Maintain Winter Highways as Gas Tax Revenue Falters

The “Govy 500″ was on track to become even sketchier as plow drivers faced overtime restrictions.

MR. PLOW: A snowplow clears Oregon Route 138 east of Roseburg in February 2023. (Oregon Department of Transportation)
By Anthony Effinger

In the wake of the first big snowstorm of the season in the Cascades, Gov. Tina Kotek and leaders of the Legislature said they would commit an extra $19 million to the Oregon Department of Transportation to restore winter road maintenance and replace aging snowplows.

ODOT maintenance is funded in large part by fuel taxes, and revenue from those has declined as greater numbers of Oregonians drive more efficient cars. The bump in funding will prevent cuts and keep service at last winter’s levels, the governor said. The increase comes at the beginning of ski season, when thousands of people participate in the daily “Govy 500″—the often hair-raising drive from Portland up Highway 26 to Timberline Lodge, Skibowl and Mt. Hood Meadows.

“Oregon needs to have safe state highways,” Kotek said. “I am committed to finding long-term solutions that ensure our state roads and highways are meeting the needs of Oregon families, businesses, and visitors.”

Kotek worked with Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) and House Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) to drum up the cash. The one-time infusion must be approved by the Legislature in the short 2024 session in February, but ODOT will augment service immediately by pulling forward funds for next winter, ODOT spokesman Kevin Glenn said.

The $19 million is for the 2023-25 biennium that began July 1. Of that amount, $8 million will go to buying materials like deicer and salt, and to paying overtime for plow drivers, who are under overtime restrictions as of now. Another $7 million will go toward fixing potholes in the spring and summer and retracing lines that mark the sides of rural roads, work that was paused this year because of revenue shortfalls.

The final $4 million will replace 10 trucks primarily used for snow plowing. ODOT has about 400 of the trucks, many of which are decrepit.

Planning for the cash infusion began Nov. 14, when Kotek wrote to Rayfield and Wagner with concerns about winter safety. The pair wrote back Nov. 30 and vowed to find money to fill the gas-tax hole.

“We are committed to allocating $19 million to the Oregon Department of Transportation in the 2024 session to continue winter maintenance services without interruption, make safety-focused improvements, ensure necessary fleet procurement, and manage vegetation as identified in your letter,” Rayfield and Wagner wrote. “Our understanding is that the agency has enough resources at this time to pay for its critical work ahead of the 2024 session.”

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