Oregon transportation commissioners on Friday approved a $5.87 billion budget request for the Oregon Department of Transportation for 2027-29.

The agency is in the process of finalizing its budget request, which will go to the state’s chief financial officer. The Legislature ultimately determines the agency’s funding through appropriations bills, which are finally signed by the governor.

ODOT anticipates a $5.87 billion budget for 2027-29. That’s a drop of $29.5 million and 548 positions from the preliminary budget that the Oregon Transportation Commission approved in June.

“As we get deeper and deeper into this, we’re becoming more and more concerned,” OTC Chairwoman Julie Brown said.

ODOT is bracing for its fourth consecutive biennium of cuts. The agency has lost approximately $200 million in its annual budget since 2019-21.

Most of that reduction has come in workforce, ODOT Deputy Director Travis Brouwer said. “This is really a reduction in spending on people, primarily.”

The cuts have fallen largely in project delivery and administration.

“With any scenario presented to us, there are painful cuts to capacity and painful cuts to provide service to our communities and to the state of Oregon,” Commissioner Phil Chang said.

Commissioner Jeff Baker asked for budget assumptions if maintenance was not cut at all. Cuts to maintenance affect safety, he said, while cuts to Driver & Motor Vehicle Services come as an inconvenience.

Brouwer replied that impacts on other agency operations would be “catastrophic” if maintenance funding was maintained. Revenue could also be affected if DMV operations are scaled back, he said.

The agency’s budget request tees up what’s sure to be a contentious budget fight next year.

“We’re thinking about every line item,” Brown said. “We’re thinking about everything we can try to do to help. We’re also trying to flag areas that we feel strongly (about).”

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