FHWA official outlines Oregon Federal Lands Access Program, shares statewide needs assessment to Bend MPO TAC

Jamie Lemon, a transportation planner with the Federal Highway AdministrationWestern Federal Lands Highway Division, told the Bend MPO Technical Advisory Committee that the Federal Lands Access Program funds transportation projects that provide access to or are located on federal lands and that Oregon receives more FLAP funding than any other state. Lemon said the office expects to open a competitive call for projects for Oregon in October and that final programming decisions would come roughly a year later.

The presentation matters because FLAP supports roads, bridges, trails and transit projects that connect high-use recreation sites and other federal land destinations to the wider transportation system. For Central Oregon and Deschutes County, Lemon and TAC members said FLAP has paid for several major projects including Skyliners Road reconstruction and work on Century Drive and Cascade Lakes Highway.

Lemon summarized how FLAP works: eligible applicants are state departments of transportation, local governments and federally recognized tribes; land management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service are project partners but not…