Ask the Commissioners
http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1423/1/Ask-the-Commissioners/Page1.html
Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor
By Coquille Valley Sentinel Editor
Published on 06/30/2009
This week we have a three part question....
Did the county receive any stimulus money for roads? Why are you paving between 10th and Highway 42? And.... Is that the worst
road we have in the county?
Mike Cassidy
Coquille
Kevin Stufflebean
Coos County was allotted highway stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed in February 2009 in the amount of $876,000.00. The money that was allotted to Coos County is under the same formula that we are allocated Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funding. Coos County is required to meet all FHWA requirements when entering into agreements with ODOT on expending ARRA funding. The money will actually never touch the financial accounts of Coos County, as all the dollars are being managed by ODOT.
Coos County is required to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with ODOT for our specific projects. ODOT will handle all contracts and projects that are funded under ARRA. The two projects that are being funded under ARRA will be Anson Roger Bridge and West Central and as a back up we have a Beach Loop project. The only roads that qualify for ARRA funding are roads that are classified as "Collector" roads. No other roads qualify for the FHWA/ARRA funding. All FHWA/ARRA projects must be contracts awarded by ODOT. Remember, that ARRA was passed in February 2009 and congress started on the ARRA package in October.
Coos County was notified in late November of the possibility for some stimulus funding that could be available, and were asked to submit qualified projects in December. We looked at some of the most viable projects that would qualify under the FHWA requirements, and West Central was one that rose to the top of the list. One of the major issues that put constraints on the county was that no projects would qualify if they required NEPA work or permitting. Some of our other collector roads would have required either NEPA or additional permitting or both and would not have qualified for funding. The projects basically had to be shovel ready projects, and although we had other projects that met the classification, they were not shovel ready projects.
The project within Coquille City Limits is a county road and meets the classification of "Collector" and met all the requirements for funding. The readers are absolutely correct, it is not one of our worst roads in Coos County, and however, it does have a low Pavement Condition Index (PCI) rating of 64, which means that the road is in "GOOD" condition. There are 7 rankings in the PCI: Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor Very Poor; and Failed The goal is to ensure that your "good" roads do not drop lower on the PCI. The lower the PCI the more costly it will become to maintain.
For Coos County not to make the investments into a "good" road like west central would be foolish at best, as the road is a major collector with high traffic volume and is a major back bone to our transportation system in the Coquille area. It is not often that we receive a funding allocation of this magnitude that allows us to make the necessary investments in our transportation system. We actually have some safety issues on West Central as well, and with a large number of children who walk on that road, that was an issue that we wanted to address. Especially since it has the High School located on the road and several businesses. It is always important for readers to contact their commissioners for all the information.
Kevin Stufflebean
Nikki Whitty
Yes, the County received $876,000 in federal stimulus money for two projects. One project was an overlay on W Central with sidewalks in front of the school. It may also include a bike path but I'm not sure about that. The second project was Anson Rogers Bridge. W Central is certainly not the worst road we have in the county but it was one that on a prioritized list and the only projects we could forward were those that required no permitting, etc.
Bob Main
John,
Can you help me answer the questions? Bob Coos County received approximately 876k in ARRA stimulus money. Two projects were selected, the first was the West Central Project in Coquille, the second was the Anson Rogers Bridge. The West Central Project was a high priority project not because of the existing condition of the paving, it was a high priority due to safety concerns with the existing sidewalk conditions for pedestrian traffic - mainly the students.
The primary goal of the project was to update the existing sidewalk to ADA standards, place a chain link fence on the back side of the sidewalk along Budd and Cunningham Creeks, and to improve the road drainage at the intersection of Fairview Lane and West Central. Most of the funds for the West Central Project are for the sidewalk construction. West Central from 10th Street to the end of the sidewalk at the high school's main entrance would have needed to be paved due to the new sidewalk construction. With the stimulus money we will take the new paving as far as we can, hopefully to Highway 42.
There are other county roads in far worse condition and the Road Department is currently formulating long range plans and new efficient construction methods to improve Coos County's roadways. John Rowe Coos County Road Department
Did the county receive any stimulus money for roads? Why are you paving between 10th and Highway 42? And.... Is that the worst
road we have in the county?
Mike Cassidy
Coquille
Kevin Stufflebean
Coos County was allotted highway stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed in February 2009 in the amount of $876,000.00. The money that was allotted to Coos County is under the same formula that we are allocated Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funding. Coos County is required to meet all FHWA requirements when entering into agreements with ODOT on expending ARRA funding. The money will actually never touch the financial accounts of Coos County, as all the dollars are being managed by ODOT.
Coos County is required to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with ODOT for our specific projects. ODOT will handle all contracts and projects that are funded under ARRA. The two projects that are being funded under ARRA will be Anson Roger Bridge and West Central and as a back up we have a Beach Loop project. The only roads that qualify for ARRA funding are roads that are classified as "Collector" roads. No other roads qualify for the FHWA/ARRA funding. All FHWA/ARRA projects must be contracts awarded by ODOT. Remember, that ARRA was passed in February 2009 and congress started on the ARRA package in October.
Coos County was notified in late November of the possibility for some stimulus funding that could be available, and were asked to submit qualified projects in December. We looked at some of the most viable projects that would qualify under the FHWA requirements, and West Central was one that rose to the top of the list. One of the major issues that put constraints on the county was that no projects would qualify if they required NEPA work or permitting. Some of our other collector roads would have required either NEPA or additional permitting or both and would not have qualified for funding. The projects basically had to be shovel ready projects, and although we had other projects that met the classification, they were not shovel ready projects.
The project within Coquille City Limits is a county road and meets the classification of "Collector" and met all the requirements for funding. The readers are absolutely correct, it is not one of our worst roads in Coos County, and however, it does have a low Pavement Condition Index (PCI) rating of 64, which means that the road is in "GOOD" condition. There are 7 rankings in the PCI: Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor Very Poor; and Failed The goal is to ensure that your "good" roads do not drop lower on the PCI. The lower the PCI the more costly it will become to maintain.
For Coos County not to make the investments into a "good" road like west central would be foolish at best, as the road is a major collector with high traffic volume and is a major back bone to our transportation system in the Coquille area. It is not often that we receive a funding allocation of this magnitude that allows us to make the necessary investments in our transportation system. We actually have some safety issues on West Central as well, and with a large number of children who walk on that road, that was an issue that we wanted to address. Especially since it has the High School located on the road and several businesses. It is always important for readers to contact their commissioners for all the information.
Kevin Stufflebean
Nikki Whitty
Yes, the County received $876,000 in federal stimulus money for two projects. One project was an overlay on W Central with sidewalks in front of the school. It may also include a bike path but I'm not sure about that. The second project was Anson Rogers Bridge. W Central is certainly not the worst road we have in the county but it was one that on a prioritized list and the only projects we could forward were those that required no permitting, etc.
Bob Main
John,
Can you help me answer the questions? Bob Coos County received approximately 876k in ARRA stimulus money. Two projects were selected, the first was the West Central Project in Coquille, the second was the Anson Rogers Bridge. The West Central Project was a high priority project not because of the existing condition of the paving, it was a high priority due to safety concerns with the existing sidewalk conditions for pedestrian traffic - mainly the students.
The primary goal of the project was to update the existing sidewalk to ADA standards, place a chain link fence on the back side of the sidewalk along Budd and Cunningham Creeks, and to improve the road drainage at the intersection of Fairview Lane and West Central. Most of the funds for the West Central Project are for the sidewalk construction. West Central from 10th Street to the end of the sidewalk at the high school's main entrance would have needed to be paved due to the new sidewalk construction. With the stimulus money we will take the new paving as far as we can, hopefully to Highway 42.
There are other county roads in far worse condition and the Road Department is currently formulating long range plans and new efficient construction methods to improve Coos County's roadways. John Rowe Coos County Road Department