Applicants vie for ConnectOregon grants

The Oregon Department of Transportation has received 78 applications — including one from Union County — for the $100 million multimodal transportation program, ConnectOregon.

Some of the applicants will go away disappointed when the funds are awarded, however. The department said the requests from throughout ODOT's five regions totaled $214 million.

Region 5, covering Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties, produced 14 applications, seeking a total of $48.3 million.

Among those is a $3.4 million request from the Union County Economic Development Corp. and Pendleton Grain Growers for the Alicel Intermodal Transportation Project.

The plan is to upgrade the PGG storage and shipping facility. A similar proposal was rejected in ConnectOregon's first funding round.

ODOT said the second authorization of ConnectOregon, known as ConnectOregon II, will build on the success of the first program, which also distributed $100 million statewide.

The program will fund non-highway projects, such as those involving rail, marine, aviation and public transit.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski is an avid supporter of ConnectOregon and believes improvement of the state's transportation system is vital to maintain the state's quality of life and economic competitiveness.

"Investing in Oregon's transportation system is one of my top priorities and I'm pleased that applications have been received from almost every corner of the state," he said.

The applications are currently being screened for completeness and technical feasibility.

They will then be reviewed by air, rail, freight and public transit modal advisory committees, regional committees from Area Commissions on Transportation, and a final review committee consisting of of representatives from both modal and regional committees.

The committee review process will begin on Jan. 17 and is expected to be completed by May. The Final Review Committee will prioritize all the projects and create a draft list for the Oregon Transportation Commission to consider at a public hearing in the summer of 2008.

A lottery-bond based initiative, ConnectOregon includes both grants and loans for private sector applicants, municipalities, cities, counties, governing organizations and other transportation-related entities.

In the first ConnectOregon program, 38 projects are moving forward, ranging from airport enhancements to railroad upgrades.

Currently, three of those projects are complete and 15 others are in construction; the remainder are in design.

Three Northeast Oregon projects did garner final approval from the transportation commission in the first round.

Successful applicants included the Wallowa Union Railroad Authority, which sought a $533,000 grant for replacement of excursion cars, and Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, which applied for $893,000 to help build an intermodal transportation facility in La Grande.

Sky Highway Inc. was awarded $85,000 to help establish an air charter service at the Union County Airport but did not proceed with the project and turned the money down.