Oregon Department of Transportation needs structural changes to increase transparency, better manage projects, new report says

For months, lawmakers have

pledged to implement changes

at the Oregon Department of Transportation to increase transparency and accountability and reduce convoluted layers of bureaucracy. Now, they finally have some strategies to do so.

In a report made public Friday, an out-of-state consulting group identified numerous bureaucratic inefficiencies — including the use of outdated software and poor delegation of authority from agency leaders — which have led to budget forecasting errors at the agency and caused some projects under its purview to skyrocket in costs.

The new report comes at a delicate time for the state transportation agency, which has repeatedly said it needs a massive funding boost from lawmakers this year to sustain its services and better maintain Oregon’s roads and bridges.

With only five weeks remaining until the constitutional deadline for this year’s legislative session,

lawmakers now intend to

incorporate the findings of the report into a massive transportation funding package they say could support the state’s transportation network for years to come.

Oregon Public Broadcasting

first reported the consultants’ findings Friday.

Consultants from engineering firms AtkinsRéalis and Horrocks found inefficiencies in every part of the agency they reviewed. They determined that unclear lines of authority and a lack of communication have slowed work at every level. They also found that the agency’s administration of private contracts is onerous for employees and contractors, further delaying work. Furthermore, the agency lacks a single system to track its many ongoing projects and has discrepancies between datasets, the review states.

Some of the report’s findings have been publicly documented for years. The state transportation agency has made headlines for costs ballooning on major projects under its management, most notably the Rose Quarter freeway expansion project that is now expected to reach or

exceed $2 billion

in total costs. And some of the errors related to budget forecasting or inadequately tracking spending were noted in an audit first reported by

The Statesman Journal

in February.

The consultants recommended a number of short- and long- term solutions for lawmakers to consider. They advised establishing clearer career paths to provide upward mobility for more agency employees. They also suggested developing a system to delegate authority between offices to reduce the number of decisions that must be approved by agency leaders.

The consultants also recommended that the agency consolidate its work on megaprojects by creating an office that would manage projects with costs higher than $99 million or “with significant political visibility or community sensitivity.”

“There is a general opinion that the agency needs deeper expertise to execute billion-dollar programs,” the consultants wrote.

To increase oversight and transparency of those projects, the consultants recommended establishing a Major Projects Committee that would include two lawmakers and representatives from other industries, including the Oregon Contractors Association and the Association of Oregon Counties. The committee would regularly meet with project and agency leaders.

The new report might help convince more lawmakers, particularly Republicans, to vote in favor of a transportation package that is likely to include some tax hikes this year. While Democrats have signaled that any transportation proposal that comes forward will include some new or increased taxes, Republicans have focused their efforts on narrowing the scope and spending of the state transportation agency.

But both parties have expressed strong support for increasing oversight and accountability of the state transportation agency. And although Democrats have a strong majority in both chambers and could pass through any tax hikes along party lines, several members of their party have indicated their support hinges on the package receiving bipartisan support.

It’s too early to know which recommendations will be adopted by lawmakers. A small group of lawmakers from both parties have been privately negotiating a transportation package for weeks and a bill is expected by early June. The legislative transportation committee will meet Tuesday to review the consultants’ findings.

— Carlos Fuentes covers state politics and government. Reach him at 503-221-5386 or


cfuentes@oregonian.com


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