Oregonians expect OTIA projects to provide a boost to the state's economy, ensure efficient delivery routes for products and services, and help solve city and county transportation challenges. There are many projects that meet these criteria, so further guidelines were developed to help select projects that would be funded by OTIA.

Every day, Oregonians invest directly in the state's transportation system. That's because part of every vehicle registration or driver license fee helps fund road and bridge improvements across the state.

The OTIA program makes a significant contribution to Oregon jobs and the Oregon economy: every $1 million invested in transportation construction supports about 17 family-wage jobs. Once the program is complete, a revitalized transportation infrastructure will continue to positively affect the state's economy.

ODOT and regulators have set performance standards for storm water runoff, streams and wetlands, wildlife and fish habitat, noise and air quality, and historic/cultural resources. Meeting these standards helps ODOT obtain environmental permits more quickly while protecting the natural, historical and cultural values that make Oregon special.

With the restrictions and requirements associated with bonding dollars, a series of reports to monitor OTIA project delivery has been developed.

The $2.46 billion Oregon Transportation Investment Act of 2003 provides $1.3 billion to repair or replace hundreds of aging state-owned bridges in Oregon. This portion of the act is known as the OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program. To deliver the bridge program in-house, ODOT would have had to fill approximately 600 new positions. Instead, the Oregon Legislature directed the agency to outsource the work, stimulating the state's economy by creating and sustaining additional jobs for Oregonians. As a result, just 22 Bridge Delivery Unit staff members oversee OBDP's management and delivery of the program. Although ODOT has outsourced work on projects before, this is the first time the agency has turned a program of this magnitude over to the private sector to manage.

The passage of OTIA III doubled ODOT's annual construction program. To keep pace with this increase in workload without additional staff, ODOT has developed new ways of managing and delivering projects that benefit all Oregonians.