LEGISLATURE APPROVES $5 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR ABERNETHY BRIDGE WATERLINE REPLACEMENT

WEST LINN, OR – July 5, 2023 – On June 29, Oregon Senate President Rob Wagner and House Speaker Dan Rayfield signed House Bill 5030, part of which allocates $5 million toward West Linn’s Abernethy Bridge waterline replacement project. If signed by the governor, these funds—which are drawn from the Oregon Lottery—will cover a significant portion of the state-mandated project, estimated to cost upwards of $13 million.

Although there are many years of life left in the Abernethy Bridge waterline, which carries all West Linn’s water supply, this early replacement was necessitated by the state’s I-205 Improvements Project—leaving the city to foot the unexpected bill. Mayor Rory Bialostosky and staff are grateful to Senate President Rob Wagner, House Representative Jules Walters, and the entire Oregon Legislature for recognizing the importance of West Linn’s ability to provide drinking water to residents—one of the most basic and crucial responsibilities of any city. Every dollar given will help free up city funding to perform critical water system maintenance that West Linn has been forced to put on hold.

Mayor Bialostosky wants to remind the public that there is more work to do. If the city is forced to exclusively use a loan to cover the remaining $8 million in costs, decades of other critical water infrastructure maintenance may be deferred. “The City is working hard to turn over every stone to bring the cost of the state-mandated waterline replacement down for residents. I look forward to the continued conversation about bridging the funding gap with the Council and the community,” he wrote.

Interim Public Works Director Erich Lais confirmed that spending on waterline capital improvements had been reduced in the previous budget cycle in anticipation of the high cost of the City’s financial obligations for the replacement of its existing water main attached to the I-205 bridge. While the awarded $5 million from the state will not cover the entire cost of the I-205 waterline replacement, the award is a significant and positive contribution to the city’s ability to continue to fund other general waterline capital improvements over the next biennium.

Interested residents can review the bill while it awaits Governor Kotek’s signature: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Measures/Overview/HB5030