In early February, the Joint Committee on Transportation (JCT) released a 2024-25 Beginning Conversation Draft Action Plan for the development of the expected 2025 State Transportation Funding Package. The document included tentative dates for a statewide listening tour in the 2024 interim. AOC encourages you to save-the-date for your area meeting and be prepared to testify on behalf of your county’s local road, bridge, and transportation needs and priorities.

*Please Note: the schedule is tentative, and the committee has yet to schedule any official listening tour dates.

County road project tour suggestions: If your county has a project or particular facility that would convey county road needs to the legislature, please click here to fill out a short survey and help AOC compile a list of tour options.

As the listening tour dates approach, the AOC County Road Program and OACES will be providing additional suggested talking points, statewide county road needs data, and individual county road priorities one-pagers, to help your county share its needs effectively with the legislature. ...[Read More]

The OACES 2024 Spring Conference will be held Monday, May 6 through Wednesday, May 8. This year’s conference is at the Sunriver Resort, located at 17600 Center Dr., Sunriver Ore., 97707.

To reserve your hotel room, please click here or call the hotel directly at 855-420-8206 and reference the OACES Spring Conference. 

To register, click here. The registration deadline is Saturday, April 20.

Registration Fee

• Members: $375
• Non-members: $400

More information, including the draft conference agenda, will soon be available on the 2024 OACES Spring Conference page.

If you have booking or registration questions, please email [email protected] or call 503-585-8351.

The Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) Program is excited to announce that it is now accepting pre-applications for 2024 TGM Planning Grants.

TGM Planning Grants provide planning resources to help Oregon jurisdictions address transportation, land use, and growth management issues in their communities.

Pre-application Process

Pre-applicants are asked to submit a short paragraph describing the local issue and desired outcome. A TGM staff member will contact each pre-applicant to discuss project ideas, assist with submitting a qualifying grant project application, and identify other resources.

The pre-application period ends April 1, 2024. The formal 2024 TGM Grant application period opens May 6, 2024 and runs through July 31, 2024.

Click here to complete you pre-application form.

If you have questions about the application process, please contact Elizabeth Ledet (ODOT) at 503-986-3205 or Bill Holmstrom (DLCD) at 971-375-5975.

As part of the 2024 solicitation of the Oregon Community Paths Program, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is offering two upcoming webinars to discuss and answer questions about the program, which supports investments in multiuse paths that are not part of a roadway.

Webinars will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on the following dates:

• Thursday, April 11
• Thursday, May 9

To register for a webinar, please contact [email protected].

Other Key Dates

• Aug. 1 - Sept. 15: Pre-applications accepted
• Nov. 1 - Jan. 15, 2025: Applications accepted
• March 2025: Oregon Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee makes recommendations
• May 2025: Oregon Transportation Commission approves projects
• October 2025: Projects begin

For questions or more information, please visit the Oregon Community Paths Program page or contact Program Manager Alan Thompson at 971-375-3903.

Transportation projects in Oregon that reduce greenhouse gas emissions have another opportunity in 2024 to get a funding boost from the federal Carbon Reduction Program.



About $12 million is available in 2024 for eligible projects in small urban and rural areas of Oregon with populations of 200,000 people or less.

The application window runs March 1 - May 31. Eligible applicants are counties, cities, tribal governments, and local and state transportation agencies.

A full list of 2023's awarded projects can be viewed here.

Visit ODOT's Carbon Reduction Program webpage to learn more about the program and how to apply for funding. For questions, please contact Climate Program Coordinator Rye Baerg at 503-798-0589.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is providing approximately $8 million in grant funding for diesel equipment owners to replace older and more polluting diesel engines with new, cleaner technologies and exhaust control retrofits. The Diesel Emissions Mitigation Grants Program is designed to help address health and environmental impacts from diesel emissions in Oregon.

Business, government, and tribal diesel equipment owners across the state are invited to apply for funding for projects that reduce diesel emissions. Visit the DEQ Diesel Emissions Mitigation Grants program web page to:

• Learn about eligible diesel projects
• Register on DEQ's grant web portal
• Apply for funding using the Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant User Guide

Owners of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles requiring retrofits under DEQ’s Diesel Retrofit Compliance Program may also apply for funding to support the installation of diesel particulate filters. In addition, non-road equipment and fleet owners (i.e., those with diesel-powered machinery or vehicles involved in construction), may also be interested in applying for a diesel emissions grant. If the project is awarded funding, it will improve the emissions profile for pursuing certification under DEQ’s upcoming Diesel Emissions Identification Program.

Deadline: Submissions must be received by DEQ no later than 5 p.m., Thursday, May 30, 2024.

For more information on Diesel Emissions Mitigation Grants, please contact Gerik Kransky, DEQ program manager.

The Street Trust's 2024 Oregon Active Transportation Summit will be held Wednesday, June 5 through Friday June 7 at the Leftbank Annex in Portland. The theme for this year's summit is Move Oregon Forward!

Registration is now open. This year's summit includes a myriad of presentations, workshops, and field trips to bring attendees together to problem-solve and build community. Participants should expect a full schedule of fun and interesting activities.

For more information, please visit the Oregon Active Transportation Summit page.

The Pacific Northwest Bridge Maintenance Conference will be held Tuesday, April 30 through Thursday, May 2 at the Seaside Civic & Convention Center.

The conference is open to all local, state, federal, and other agency bridge owners involved in bridge maintenance activities. Click here to to learn more about this year's conference, register, and view the conference agenda.

There is a limited number of scholarships available to assist attendees with financial support. To apply for a scholarship, please click here.

To learn more about this year's conference, please visit the Pacific Northwest Bridge Maintenance Conference webpage.

The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Focus on Reducing Rural Roadway Departures (FoRRRwD), is an Every Day Counts initiative that encourages the systemic application of Proven Safety Countermeasures (PSCs), designed to help keep vehicles in their travel lanes, reduce the potential for crashes, and decrease the severity of crashes that do occur.



Despite the progress made by states to implement FoRRRwD, over 83,000 people died on rural roadways between 2017 and 2021. In addition, during this same time period, 56 percent of roadway departure fatalities occurred in rural areas. To help reduce the number of rural roadway fatalities, FHWA recently published Proven Safety Countermeasures in Rural Communities (FHWA-SA-24-005), a useful resource for communities to help save lives by focusing on roadway departures, intersections, pedestrians, bicyclists, or speed management.

This helpful compendium includes an overview of each proven safety countermeasure (PSC), considerations for rural applications, crash reduction effectiveness, and case studies. This document also features an easy-to-use reference table that allows practitioners to quickly evaluate the PSC based on other factors, such as relative cost and typical service life. 

For questions or more information on FoRRRwD please contact FHWA Office of Safety Program Manager Michael Matzke at 202-366-1331.

The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Local Aid Support (LAS) team continues to expand its catalog of online training resources designed for local government and tribal transportation professionals. The courses are available at no cost, but registration is required for regular access to the courses, as well as for generating certificates upon completion. 

Take transportation training anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace. New topics include:

• Federal Requirements to know when Applying for Grants
• Grant Applications 101
• Safety Edge Solution
• Work Zone Fundamentals
• Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian   

To access all available trainings, please visit the FHWA Local Aid Support Online Training Library. If there are topics of interest not listed on the webpage, please email the FHWA Local Aid Support team with your suggestions.

Join your colleagues nationwide at the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) Conference and Annual Meeting in Palm Springs, Calif., April 15-18!

Registration is now open.

OACES hopes to have a strong Oregon delegation attending NACE this year. If you or your county need financial support to attend, you are encouraged to apply or nominate fellow OACES members for the Education & Leadership Scholarship Program.

• 105 Years of the Gas Tax: 'Getting Oregon Out of the Mud' | KOIN
• Oregon Transportation Panel Discusses Tax Disparity for Large Trucks | Land Line Magazine
• Survey Finds Majority of Oregon Voters Oppose Proposed Tolling Projects | KOIN
• Pedestrian Deaths Fell Modestly Last Year, But There's Still a Safety 'Crisis' | OPB
• Editorial: How Much Government Would be Good Government in Oregon Transportation | Bend Bulletin
• Oregon Legislature Passes School Bus Camera Bill Targeting Errant Drivers | Oregon Capital Chronicle
• Oregon Court Rejects Cities' Request to Toss Climate Rules | OPB
• Feds Grant $450 Million Toward I-5 Freeway Caps in North Albina District | Oregon Live
• Oregon Lawmakers Send $20 Million to Clean Up Portland Highways; Work to Start Right Away | Oregon Live
• Bend City Council Hears Feedback on Transportation Fee Ahead of Vote | Central Oregon Daily News
• In a Departure From Last Year, Oregon Legislature Wraps Up Session in High Spirits | Oregon Capital Insider
• Trenton's' e-Bike Law, Named for Bend Teen, Passes Oregon Senate | Central Oregon Daily News
• Oregon Transportation Commission Visits Southern Oregon | KDRV
• A Plan to Toll Portland's Highways is Dead - but Tolling is Still on the Table - OPB

Newsletters of Interest:

• Every Day Counts, Bi-Weekly News -- FHWA
• Innovator, Bi-Monthly News -- FHWA
• Transportation Safety, Monthly News -- ODOT
• The Oregon Examiner, Quarterly News -- OSBEELS
• PLSO News -- PLSO