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County officials press legislators on transportation accountability after state project cost overruns
Summary
Deschutes County officials discussed the Legislature’s ongoing work on transportation accountability and asked whether audit and expert reports on ODOT project cost increases are complete; staff said external experts and state auditors are investigating, and committee reports are pending.
Deschutes County officials on April 18 pressed legislators for clarity about transportation accountability work in Salem after media reporting and committee inquiries about large cost increases on major state projects.
Doug Riggs briefed commissioners on ongoing legislative review: committees have hired outside experts and state auditors have been asked to answer questions about cost escalation on projects such as the Abernathy Bridge and the Rose Quarter. Riggs said the Legislature is seeking answers about why some projects ballooned in cost and whether oversight and forecasting failures occurred.
“Why weren't the oversight groups of the OTC and the legislature notified earlier of these cost overruns, and then… the overestimation of federal revenues?” Riggs said, summarizing the questions committees are pursuing. He said the committee work is time-consuming and may explain why staff have not yet released full reports.
Commissioners and staff discussed whether the audit or expert reports ordered by legislative committees had returned. Riggs said those investigations are ongoing and that lawmakers want assurances that future allocations will be spent efficiently if the Legislature authorizes additional transportation dollars.
County officials said they would continue monitoring legislative accountability work and noted local capital projects have seen inflation and supply-chain impacts as well. County representatives urged clearer, timely reporting from ODOT and legislative committees so local governments can assess funding risk.
