Northeast transportation commission to meet in La Grande Thursday

Three Eastern Oregon highway projects, including an $8.8 million repair plan for the I-84 bridges over North Spruce Street in La Grande, are part of the transportation pipeline as the Northeast Area Commission on Transportation prepares to meet in La Grande on Thursday, May 7.

The commission will meet at 9 a.m. at ODOT Region 5 Headquarters, 3012 Island Ave., with a Teams option available. Public comments are welcome at any time during the meeting, giving Union County residents, freight operators and transit advocates a chance to speak before regional priorities move higher in the state funding process.

The agenda matters because the commission does more than hear updates. Its work program says it coordinates long-range transportation issues, reviews project priorities and recommends investments to the Oregon Transportation Commission. NEACT has 20 voting members, including county and city representatives, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation representatives, at-large members and seats tied to freight, transit and bike-ped interests.

For local drivers, the most immediate items are concrete. ODOT says the I-84 durable striping project across Baker, Umatilla and Union counties is scheduled to begin the week of May 4 and finish by mid-June, with an estimated cost of $1.8 million. A separate I-84 roadway illumination project in Cabbage Hill and Ladd Canyon was pushed to a June 1 start date and is expected to wrap by September. That job carries an estimated $1 million price tag and calls for up to 11 new poles in Cabbage Hill and up to 40 in Ladd Canyon.

The La Grande bridge project is further out but potentially more disruptive. ODOT says the I-84 bridges over North Spruce Street are in design now, with construction crossovers planned in 2026 and bridge repairs expected in 2027. The estimated cost through construction is $8.8 million, a figure that underscores how long these projects can take to move from planning to lane shifts and work zones.

The meeting also comes as ODOT continues to work under pressure from a $297 million budget shortfall. The agency said in March that it avoided layoffs and deep service cuts, but redirected $218 million from existing transportation funds, a shift that could delay or reduce grants for programs such as Safe Routes to School and Connect Oregon.

NEACT’s March 5 agenda also pointed to a longer horizon, including a Capital Investment Plan for 2027-2037 and a March 14 submission deadline. That makes Thursday’s session more than a routine update: it is part of the process that helps decide which roads, bridges and safety projects rise first for Union County and the rest of northeast Oregon.