ODOT seeks federal funds to add median barrier, ITS and shoulder widening on U.S. 97 at Juniper Butte
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
ODOT requested subcommittee approval to pursue a federal BUILD-style grant to fund safety improvements on U.S. 97 between Madras and Terrebonne, emphasizing recurring crashes, freight detours and winter icy conditions. The subcommittee approved the request by unanimous consent.
The Joint Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development on Feb. 17 acknowledged an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) request to apply for federal funds to make safety improvements on U.S. 97 at Juniper Butte.
Tova Peltz, ODOT’s interim Delivery and Operations Division administrator, told the subcommittee the project would install a median barrier, add intelligent‑transportation system improvements, widen shoulders and extend truck‑scale merge lanes along the Juniper Butte corridor to reduce recurring crashes and roadway closures. “This project will improve safety and address reoccurring crashes in the corridor,” Peltz said, citing the location as one of the top crash spots identified in a recent safety study.
Peltz said the project is a priority of local leaders and regional entities, and she emphasized freight impacts: when the section closes because of a crash, “there’s no viable alternative to support freight traffic,” she said, arguing the work would limit closures that disrupt commercial traffic. Peltz also noted elevation changes at Juniper Butte that create unexpected icy conditions in winter; ITS improvements would “alert drivers to roadway condition changes,” and median improvements would reduce head‑on collisions that often trigger closures.
Committee staff first described a federal grant request with a figure of $20,200,000 and an application deadline of Feb. 24; Peltz said planning had advanced and the grant would pursue funds for final design and construction, at one point citing a total of $21,200,000 for that scope. The grant was described as having no state match requirement.
Angela Perrotta of the Department of Administrative Services Chief Financial Office recommended the committee approve the request to apply for the federal funding. A member moved the Legislative Fiscal Office recommendation and, after the chair asked for objections and none were raised, the motion carried by unanimous consent; no roll‑call tally was taken.
Next steps: agency staff were invited to brief the full Ways and Means Committee at an upcoming meeting to discuss the Juniper Butte project in more detail and to proceed with the grant application before the stated deadline.