Updates Newsletter from Washington County Land Use & Transportation

MSTIP 3d project, Scholls Ferry Road between Roy Rogers Road and Teal Boulevard, was previously a two-lane roadway providing access from Murray Boulevard and the growing residential areas in southwest Beaverton.

Help Washington County select MSTIP 3e projects

We need your help!

Washington County and its partner cities want your input to help select road improvement projects to be funded through the Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program - otherwise known as MSTIP. MSTIP funding decisions are made on a five-year cycle. The next funding cycle - MSTIP 3e - is from Fiscal Year 2018-19 through Fiscal Year 2022-23.

MSTIP project selection is a joint effort of the County and the Washington County Coordinating Committee, or WCCC. The WCCC is comprised of elected officials from the County and all of the cities within the County.

A total of $160 million has been earmarked for MSTIP 3e projects. The MSTIP 3e 150% Project List was drafted based on a set of eligibility requirements ( see How are MSTIP projects selected? below). The 150% Project List includes projects totaling about $240 million - or about one-and-a-half times the available $160 million funding - with each of the four County Commissioner districts receiving approximately equal shares.

We are asking for your help trimming the 150% Project List by one-third - or $80 million. Please let us know which of these projects are important to you and why. There are several ways you can do this:

Visit the MSTIP 3e Online Open House at www.MSTIP3e.com throughout May. Using our interactive map function, you can click on a project to get more information and provide comments.
Drop in to one of our three Open Houses:

5:30-7:30 p.m. Monday, May 9, at Portland Community College Willow Creek Center, 241 SW Edgeway Dr., Beaverton;

5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, at the Tigard Library, 13500 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard

5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19, at the Forest Grove Community Auditorium, 1915 Main St., Forest Grove.

Email questions and comments to [email protected].

What is MSTIP?

Local property taxes support Washington County's Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program, known as MSTIP. By 2018, MSTIP will have funded 130 transportation projects, totaling $730 million. These MSTIP projects have been critical to meeting the transportation needs of our growing County - for cars, trucks, bicycles, pedestrians, transit and freight movement.

While the County manages MSTIP projects, most of the money goes back into the local economy - to private-sector planning and engineering firms, to materials suppliers and to the construction contractors who build the projects on a competitive bid basis.
Visit www.mstip.org for more information.

How are MSTIP projects selected?

To be eligible for MSTIP funding, projects must meet the following criteria:

Improve safety
Improve traffic flow/relieve congestion
Be on a major road used by many residents
Address multiple transportation needs, including cars, trucks, bicycles, pedestrians and transit
Provide geographic balance, ensuring benefits to travelers in all areas of the County

Spotlight on Cornelius Pass Road - MSTIP 3d

The Cornelius Pass Road widening project - funded in part through MSTIP 3d - is well past the halfway mark, and the work continues on schedule.

The project owes its success to a public/private funding collaboration with Washington County's MSTIP program, the state of Oregon Immediate Opportunity Funds program, the city of Hillsboro's Transportation Development Tax and Traffic Impact Fee programs and Intel.

The project will widen the roadway to three lanes in each direction between Cornell Road and U.S. 26. There will be a center median and dedicated turn lanes at several intersections, including U.S. 26. Other improvements include:

Sidewalks on both sides of the road
A buffered bike lane on the west side
A separated two-way bike path on the east side
New street lighting

The project is expected to be completed in December. For traffic updates, visit wc-roads.com. Or, visit the project website at www.co.washington.or.us/LUT/TransportationProjects/cornelius-pass-cornell-to-hwy-26.cfm.

Transportation Funding 101

You depend on the 1,300 miles of roads maintained by Washington County. These roads allow you to get to work, school, home and countless other places. While a wide open road means "freedom" to many, there is nothing "free" about roads. Building, improving and maintaining roads takes a lot of money.

Where does that money come from? Watch "Transportation 101," a video produced by Washington County Department of Land Use & Transportation, to learn how your roads are funded and where the "potholes" are in that funding system. Visit transportationfunding.org.

Washington County Land Use & Transportation

www.co.washington.or.us/lut | 503-846-4530 | [email protected]

155 N First Avenue, Suite 350, MS 16, Hillsboro, OR 97124