What does alternatives development mean?

The alternatives development phase is a brainstorming time when ideas to address the project’s purpose and need are gathered from the community, ODOT and from the US 97 and US 20 Refinement Plan. The result is a wide range of alternatives that are advanced to the alternatives screening phase.

What does alternatives screening mean?

During the alternatives screening phase, the alternatives (or transportation solutions) are compared against screening criteria that measure whether or not the alternatives satisfy the project’s purpose and need. All alternatives advanced to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) phase of the project must, at a minimum, meet the project’s purpose and need. The next step is to evaluate the alternatives to develop a reasonable range of alternatives for detailed study and comparison in the Draft EIS.

What does alternatives evaluation mean?

All alternatives that meet the minimum project requirements as described in the purpose and need are advanced to the alternatives evaluation phase. During the alternatives evaluation phase, the alternatives are evaluated across a number of criteria tied to the project’s goals and objectives. The goals and objectives are other desirable outcomes that the public and stakeholders would like to achieve as part of the project and are beyond those addressed in the purpose and need statement. This phase helps identify alternatives that best achieve the project’s goals and objectives, and helps narrow down the range of alternatives to a reasonable range of alternatives for detailed study and comparison in the Draft EIS.

Spring 2009: What alternatives were advanced for detailed study and comparison in the Draft EIS?

In Spring 2009, based on input from project designers and traffic engineers, the project’s Steering Team and Citizen Advisory Committee, the Oregon Department of Transportation recommended that four build alternatives be advanced for detailed study and comparison in the Draft EIS: West 1, East 1, East 2, and East 3. At the May 19, 2009 open house, the project team presented maps of these four build alternatives. Please visit the Open House Materials section of this website’s document library to view materials presented at the open house.

Fall 2009 Update: Developing Down-Scaled Alternatives

During summer 2009, traffic analysis was conducted on the four build alternatives: West 1, East 1, East 2 and East 3. Based on information learned from the traffic analysis and in response to public and stakeholder concerns about the magnitude of the project, particularly a concern about the total cost compared to the likely 20-year funding opportunities, ODOT staff are taking a pause on the environmental technical analysis work for the project.

In September and October, 2009, the project team reviewed the project’s purpose and need and goals and objectives, and considered priorities within the project’s many goals and objectives. The project team also looked at opportunities for down-scaling the current build alternatives to see if a lower-cost variation of one or more of the build alternatives would meet the project’s purpose and need and optimize project goals and objectives. Three down-scaled (lower cost) alternatives were developed during a design workshop on October 12, 2009 and October 14, 2009: East DS1, West DS1, and Existing DS1. A fourth down-scaled (lower cost) alternative was developed after the workshop: East DS2.

Maps of the four alternatives identified in Spring 2009 as well as the four down-scaled alternatives developed in Fall 2009 are available to the right.

The next steps include:

• ODOT gathers input from the public on the down-scaled (lower cost) alternatives
• ODOT Regional Manager makes a final recommendation on the reasonable range of alternatives for detailed study and comparison in the Draft EIS
• Federal Highway Administration reviews and approves the reasonable range of alternatives for detailed study and comparison in the Draft EIS

Please visit the Committees and Decision-Making page and the Get Involved page to learn how you can get involved and stay informed about this project.