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. . <br /> • Be imm~ in <br /> December 2002 the i <br /> C has en a ed in lobb in and educatin the Ore n <br /> g g ~ tY g g Y g g go <br /> Congressional delegation on issues related to transportation improvement funding. Senators <br /> Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden, and Representative Peter DeFazio, especially, have provided <br /> positive and aggressive support for the City's funding requests. Additionally, other northwest <br /> legislators, including Senator Patty Murray of Washington, have acknowledged the merits of <br /> the project. <br /> • The City secured $500,000 as part of the Federal Omnibus FY2003 appropriations bill. This <br /> funding through the Transportation Community Systems Preservation (TCSP) program will <br /> provide resources to complete the road design. The City has reached agreement with ODOT <br /> on .the project scope and budget, and this agreement is being formalized in an <br /> intergovernmental agreement. OBEC Consulting Engineering has been selected as the <br /> project design consultant. DKS Associates and CH2M Hill have been selected as <br /> subcontractors on the design team. City engineering staff have begun project team meetings <br /> with ODOT to confirm the project schedule, agree on decision-making protocol, and review <br /> :..design elements. The agreed upon schedule calls for approval of final alignments, signaling, <br /> lane configurations, and traffic movements by March 2004, and completion of construction <br /> by October 2005. <br /> • Lane County has committed $325,000 in local funding for Phase 1 improvements. These <br /> funds will provide local match for the Federal contribution to Phase 1 improvements. The <br /> .City is requesting that the County include Phase 2 funding in the upcoming County Capital <br /> Improvement Program which goes to a hearing process in February 2004. <br /> The City is following amulti-faceted strategy to obtain Federal funding for the remainder of the <br /> :improvements, including: <br /> • Funding for both phases of the transportation improvements is expected to be included in the <br /> upcoming TEA-21 reauthorization. As you know, consideration of this bill has been delayed,... <br /> and afive-month extension of TEA-21 was just approved by Congress. Completion of a full <br /> TEA reauthorization with funding for new projects is expected to be the primary <br /> Congressional priority between February and Apri12004. <br /> • Federal Department of Transportation staff have encouraged the City to seek full build-out <br /> construction funding by again turning to the TCSP program. The City's lobbyist met with <br /> Congressional Transportation Committee staff on September 24, 2003 and TCSP funds were <br /> recommended as a future construction funding possibility because of numerous TCSP criteria <br /> and goals matching the Courthouse transportation project. This symmetry was a large factor <br /> in the City receiving the Omnibus FY03 planning funds, the first time TCSP funds had been <br /> earmarked for Oregon since 1998. <br /> <br /> • If TEA funding is delayed or reduced, the City will seek funding for Phase 1 improvements <br /> through the FY05 Department of Transportation appropriations bill expected to be approved <br /> in the fall of 2004. <br /> Page 3 <br /> <br />