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Two years ago, Slayden Construction was awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to replace a handful of bridges along state Highway 38, which links Interstate 5 to the coastal city of Reedsport.

The original guardrail on one of the 1930s-era spans slated for replacement was so deteriorated that chunks of concrete were missing and the rebar inside had rusted. Over the years, the state, with safety in mind, had installed another guardrail on the inside of the old one. And as a result, cars and trucks were negotiating an even narrower bridge.

Larry Gescher, a vice president with Slayden, said the bridge is a prime example of the deteriorated conditions that characterize much of Oregon’s transportation infrastructure.

The state is addressing its highways, roads and bridges with initiatives such as the so-called Oregon Transportation Investment Act III State Bridge Delivery Program, but more investment is needed, said Gescher, who chairs the Heavy/Highway/Utility Council of the Associated General Contractors’ Oregon-Columbia chapter.

“It’s hard to make improvements when you are trying to maintain what you’ve got,” he said.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski is seeking to ramp up Oregon’s investment in transportation, recently unveiling a plan he said would create thousands of jobs, establish sustainable long-term funding for the state’s transportation system, and address greenhouse gas emissions in transportation construction and planning.

Kulongoski’s Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 is an outgrowth of a broad-based advisory committee he tasked with developing recommendations for a comprehensive transportation package for the next legislative session, which opens in January.

The governor said Oregon’s transportation infrastructure has not kept pace with population growth and freight traffic. He touted his plan as good for the state’s economy in the short term and over time, describing it as the “most robust, sustainable, strategic and green transportation package in Oregon history.”

The plan would invest $1 billion every two years and create thousands of jobs annually over the first five years, Kulongoski said. Among other things, the plan would fix key freight bottlenecks; provide money for road and bridge maintenance; and increase funds to better connect railroads, ports, airports and transit lines to the highway system. It also dovetails with the governor’s climate change agenda, aiming to reduce carbon emissions in part via expanded pedestrian and bicycle programs, increased carpools and vanpools, a statewide rideshare program, and incentive programs designed to reduce the number of cars on the road.

People such as E. Terry Beyer, D-Springfield, current chair of the House Transportation Committee, describe the governor’s plan as “comprehensive,” but consider the state’s biggest transportation priority to be road maintenance. Beyer pointed to cash-strapped rural communities, some of which are returning deteriorated paved roads to gravel because it is safer than simply having the roads fall apart.

“We have to shore up the system we have. That would be the first direction I would go,” Beyer said. “I’d like to get agreement on that first. Everything else, in my mind, is frosting on the cake.”

Beyer said she supports the governor’s plan, but would like to see greater funding for senior and disabled transit services than the $5 million Kulongoski has proposed.

Gescher, of Stayton-based Slayden Construction, said the time is now for Oregon to move forward on the governor’s transportation package because the state can take advantage of the design and construction workforce that has propelled OTIA III.

Bob Shiprack, executive secretary with the Oregon Building Trades Council, which has about 30,000 union members, agreed. The transportation package offers the opportunity to move many young professionals to journeyman status after they joined apprenticeship programs in anticipation of OTIA III.

“You are going to have a workforce out there that is one of the most productive in the country,” he said. “This would maintain that high level of productivity that Oregon enjoys.”

Shiprack, who served on the governor’s transportation advisory committee, added that the package would create additional jobs in the trucking and rental industries and in operations such as sand and gravel.

The bottom line is that the package is needed to maintain roads, relieve congestion and make safety improvements, he said.

“To fix these roads and bridges, once they have hit the point of no return, is really expensive,” Shiprack said. “Let’s face it: we own this stuff and we ought to take care of it.”

Gescher looks favorably on the governor’s plan in part because it calls for funding from multiple sources, including title and registration fee increases as well as a 2-cent gas tax increase.

“Nobody wants to see taxes go up in an economy like it is, but unfortunately the money has to come from somewhere,” Gescher said, adding that investing in public works stimulates the economy. “We (contractors) buy goods and pay employees. And it’s not just good for contractors … it spreads way beyond that.”

To that end, Kulongoski says his plan is good for the flagging economy because it would create thousands of jobs.

But Bill Conerly, a Lake Oswego-based economic consultant, believes such transportation packages end up “a wash” with respect to stimulating the economy. To be sure, transportation infrastructure is inadequate, but Federal Reserve monetary policy and strong consumer spending are the keys to digging out of recession, he said.

Associated Oregon Industries, the state’s largest business association, has not taken a position on Kulongoski’s transportation plan, but has been an advocate of a better transportation system and was involved with the committee that made recommendations to the governor.

John Ledger, an AOI vice president, said such packages have a difficult row to hoe in tough economic times. Among other things, Ledger noted that an increase in Oregon’s gas tax usually triggers an increase in the weight-mile fee trucks pay, and Oregon’s weight-mile fee already is among the nation’s highest.

“The structure of it makes it difficult,” Ledger said, noting AOI will weigh each component of the governor’s plan prior to the legislative session. “There are a lot of details to work out. It will not be easy. The train almost never looks the same coming out the other end of the tunnel. And it’s not intended to.”