June 3, 2025 7:00 a.m.
On Monday, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along the state’s five Democratic House members announced that the Oregon Department of Transportation is receiving over $83 million for work it completed to repair roads and other critical infrastructure that were deeply damaged during natural disasters.
A joint release said the federal funds from the Federal Highway Administration will be used to reimburse ODOT for its vital work that was needed to ensure communities across the state can continue to recover from years of severe weather events.
Merkley said, “From the deadly 2020 Labor Day fires to last year’s ice storms, Oregonians in every corner of our state have faced deadly weather events in recent years, which have taken a heavy toll on the infrastructure needed to move safely”.
Wyden said, “The ongoing climate crisis continues to fuel more extreme weather events and wildfires every year”. Wyden said, “Reliable infrastructure is essential to ensuring that first responders and crews are able to effectively protect our communities and beautiful outdoor spaces. I applaud this federal award to ODOT for crucial infrastructure projects across Oregon’ and will continue to advocate for more resources to keep our communities safe and connected”.
Details of the federal funding for ODOT’s natural disaster recovery are posted with this story at www.541radio.com
- $30,735,975 to repair damages following the 2020 Labor Day fires. The wildfires statewide caused damage to federal-aid highways from fire, fallen trees, and falling rocks.
- $23,210,956 for work that repaired damages sustained during severe winter weather in December 2022. The significant rains across Western Oregon caused flooding and landslides. One landslide threatened to block I-84, and a large portion of a hillside came down and wiped-out Highway 101.
- $20,000,000 for infrastructure repairs following the January 2024 ice storm. This significant winter storm covered much of Oregon in ice, causing trees and power lines to come down across roads and damage signs. The same storm dropped several inches of rain in Southern Oregon, causing flooding and landslides.
- $3,164,000 to repair damages following a series of severe winter storms in December 2021. The storms brought excessive rain and high winds across the state of Oregon, lasting until January 10, 2022. Multiple large landslides occurred, temporarily limiting access to I-84, OR 138, OR 30, and several others. Culverts blew out, causing multiple roadway collapses.
- $2,765,399 for work to repair damages from severe storms in February 2019. The storms caused heavy snow and ice accumulation, high winds, flooding, landslides, and erosion in the southwestern and western parts of the state, resulting in critical transportation failures, loss of power and communications capabilities, and emergency mass care needs.
- $2,500,000 for repairs following a series of severe storms in December 2023. The storm system brought heavy rains, flooding, and landslides to five counties and was so severe it caused two roads to collapse—Miami Foley and Sandlake in Tillamook County. It also caused the temporary closure of State Highways 101 and 26. Other federal-aid roads were damaged by scour, washouts, debris flows, and mudslides.
- $538,915 for wildfire recovery efforts following the 2017 fire season. These fires significantly impacted transportation systems in the following counties: Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Lane, Linn, Marion, and Multnomah.
- $300,000 for infrastructure recovery efforts following an atmospheric river in January 2021. The severe storm brought heavy rain across Oregon, causing flooding, landslides, roads to wash out on US 30, I-84, and sinkholes on Hwy 101 and many other major highways across Oregon in early January 2021.