Minnesota
bridge collapse prompts Oregon
action
The recent deadly collapse of a
major interstate bridge over the
Mississippi River between
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.,
has prompted Oregon Gov. Ted
Kulongoski to order an
inspection of all of Oregon’s
steel deck truss bridges – the
kind that collapsed in
Minneapolis. The good news for
Oregon is, the 2003 Legislature
passed and the governor signed
the $3 billion Oregon
Transportation Investment Act
III, a statewide transportation
package which included money to
repair or replace hundreds of
bridges. That was followed by
ConnectOregon I and II in 2005
and 2007, which invests another
$200 million in more non-highway
transportation projects across
the state. Motorists who have
traveled towards Portland or
over the Santiam Pass may have
noticed the many bridges
improved under these programs.
The new Newport Avenue Bridge
also was paid for with these
funds. There still is a lot of
work to be done – the American
Society of Civil Engineers says
that more than 70,000 of the
nation’s bridges are
structurally deficient, and
fixing them all would require
spending at least $9.4 billion a
year for 20 years. There’s a
move afoot in Congress to
increase the federal gas tax to
make more progress in fixing the
nation’s crumbling
transportation infrastructure.
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UGB
expansion/Juniper Ridge takes
another turn
Another page has been written in
the continuing saga of the city
of Bend’s efforts to expand its
urban growth boundary (UGB) and
develop Juniper Ridge. Attorneys
representing several developers
have requested a stack of public
records from the city, claiming
it is favoring Juniper Ridge
over other areas already in the
urban area reserve (UAR). One
attorney has requested
everything from letters and
e-mails to draft documents and
diaries. Several more city and
county public hearings before
will be held on the UGB
expansion in the coming weeks.
The city has several land-use
issues to clear with both the
county and the state before any
UGB and UAR expansion can take
place. In a related matter, the
Bend City Council in a Monday
work session will discuss
Juniper Ridge financing. The
meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m.
at the North Fire Station
Training Facility.
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Workforce
housing in the spotlight this
fall
Businesses have repeatedly
identified workforce housing as
a key issue in Bend, and two
seminars this fall will try to
move those issues forward. The
Chamber’s breakfast workshop at
Bend Golf & Country Club titled
“Workforce Housing Solutions
101” will be held from 7:30 to 9
a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4 (note
the date change). It will focus
on community-based solutions to
Central Oregon’s workforce
housing needs. Cost is $25 per
person; contact the Bend Chamber
online at
www.bendchamber.org/housing
or phone 382-3211 to register.
And from 7:30 to 10 a.m. on
Thursday, Sept. 13, the second
annual Workforce Forecast
Breakfast will be held at St.
Charles Medical Center. Cost is
$25, or corporate tables for
eight are $165. Keynote speaker
is William S. Hettinger, Ph.D.,
president and CEO of the Wyndham
Financial Group. To register,
contact Dayna at EDCO, 388-3236,
or e-mail at
dayna@edcoinfo.com by Sept.
10.
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Other coming
events
Friday’s Chamber Legislative
Council Breakfast will feature
state Rep. Chuck Burley, who
will talk about this year’s
legislative session and next
year’s experiment in yearly
sessions. Another speaker will
be Amy Carwse of Oliver
Commercial Group and a member of
a blue-ribbon task force that is
examining the city of Bend’s
planning processes. She’ll give
an update of how the process is
going. Click
HERE
to register online.
There are still seats available at the Chamber’s
Healthcare Forecast Luncheon,
scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16 at Bend
Golf & Country Club. Cost is
$25. Visit
www.bendchamber.org/healthcare
or call 382-3221 to register.
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