Bridge maintenance in Wallowa County got a boost June 21 when State Treasurer Randall Edwards and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) announced that the Oregon State Treasury last week completed the sale of $300 million in revenue bonds to finance 141 city and county bridge repair and replacement projects throughout Oregon.

Six bridge projects in the county have been selected to receive funds totalling almost $3.2 million. Two bridges on Upper Imnaha Road were recommended to receive a combined $1.67 million, while a bridge across Bear Creek at Frontage Road is recommended to get $688,000.

A bridge on Bear Creek Road has been tagged with $451,000, and the bridge across Trout Creek at Golf Course Road has $387,000 recommended. Also, in the city of Enterprise, $486,000 has been recommended for the bridge across Prairie Creek at S.E. Florence Street.

Proceeds from the revenue bonds sold will be delivered to Oregon in early July. ODOT expects to distribute grant proceeds to cities and counties approximately two weeks after delivery of the bond proceeds.

Each city and county receiving a grant will be responsible for oversight and delivery of projects in their own jurisdictions, for monitoring the investment of grant proceeds before expenditure, and for documenting all expenditures of grant proceeds and investment income.

The bond issuance is the first under the Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA) III, passed by the 2003 Oregon Legislature.

In addition to this $300 million for bridge projects on city and county highways, OTIA III calls for $1.3 billion in bonds for repair and replacement of bridges on state highways, and $300 million in bonds for highway modernization. OTIA III bridge projects will be implemented in five stages over the next ten years, with the next bond issuance expected to be in the summer or fall of 2005.

OTIA III is one of the largest single investments in Oregon’s infrastructure in state history and one of the cornerstones of efforts to revitalize Oregon’s economy, Edwards said. “Investments like this will keep the wheels of Oregon’s economy turning,” he said. “This work is expected to sustain more than 4,700 construction jobs, and will help ensure we have a strong infrastructure crucial for the safe, reliable and efficient movement of Oregon products. This is the type of financing Wall Street likes to see us issue.”

To implement its portion of OTIA III, ODOT has contracted with Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners (OBDP, a joint venture between Fluor Enterprises and HDR Engineering) to manage the delivery of the $1.3 billion state bridge program.

ODOT and OBDP will focus on minimizing impacts on business and public traffic at project sites, completing projects expediently to keep freight moving, and maximizing the use of Oregon construction firms and employees, according to an ODOT press release.