|
|
|
|
News and Events
|
|
|
Article Content
|
|
|
 |
| Highway 219 pilot project |
|
| 12/30/2010 |
December 30, 2010 For more information: Lou Torres (503) 986-2880
12-339-R2 email at: mailto:louis.c.torres@odot.state.or.us
Private company to provide maintenance for pilot project on Highway 219
SALEM- A Sherwood, Oregon company will provide 24/7 maintenance and operations coverage for a 26-mile section of Oregon Highway 219 beginning in late December. It is a pilot program that is part of the Jobs and Transportation Act (JTA) passed by the 2009 Oregon Legislature.
Eagle-Elsner, Inc. of Sherwood was one of three firms to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to provide all maintenance and operations for the segment of Highway 219 that begins at Scholls, north of Newberg, and continues south to the County line near the west city limits of Woodburn.
Also known as House Bill 2001, the JTA directed the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to develop and implement a six-year pilot program to contract all maintenance activities on a segment of state highway between 10 and 30 miles in length. It also needed to meet other criteria and requirements such as: the highway needed continued regular and monthly work; required maintenance for a majority of features on the highway; the highway wasn’t in “perfect condition”; had reasonable winter conditions; and was close to ODOT’s district office.
“The communities within this highway corridor, and the motorists who use this segment of highway, should not see any difference in the level of care and maintenance of the road under this new arrangement,” said Karla Keller, ODOT’s Region 2 Maintenance and Operations Manager. “We will ensure that Eagle-Elsner meet all the required maintenance standards and specifications that ODOT normally provides.”
During the first year of the contract, the contractor will be paid based on the actual work performed including time, materials and administrative costs for an estimated cost of $697,000. Eventually, future contracts will be performance based.
“We did it this way because of some of the up-front contractor costs for equipment, materials and facility needs, as well as risk assessments of the unknowns. This will ensure that ODOT gets a good product with the desired results and appropriate cost controls,” Keller explained. “This level of contracting has never been done in Oregon and required considerable details for level of service specifications to cover Oregon’s weather patterns.”
Included in the contract is a provision that will allow the contractor to lease plow and deicer trucks through ODOT. This is necessary to provide a cost-effective contract that doesn’t contain high costs of “ramp up” to purchase new and expensive equipment.
Also, because of cost-effectiveness, Emergency Incident Response (IR) will continue to be covered through ODOT and the Northwest Transportation Operations Center in Salem to ensure effective and timely response to incidents. Citizens are reminded that to report a road hazard 24/7, to call 503-362-0457.
Eagle-Elsner will provide 24/7 response for maintenance, when necessary. Citizens can call Eagle-Elsner at 503-628-1137 for issues related to the maintenance and operations of this section of Highway 219.
Know before you go
The latest highway and closure information is available at: www.TripCheck.com or by calling 5-1-1.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|