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Innovative Approach to Multiple-Criteria Evaluation of Multimodal Alternatives: Newberg-Dundee Transportation Improvement Project Case Study

Dissatisfied with the time and resources required to conduct a number of high-profile, controversial major investment studies, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) decided to use the Newberg-Dundee transportation improvement project to explore methods for streamlining the alternatives analysis process and better controlling the time frames and expenditures for these efforts. The Newberg-Dundee project concerned a highly congested segment of highway just outside the Portland metropolitan area. Over 95 percent of all trips in the corridor are made by automobile; public transportation in the area is infrequent and ineffective. Heightening the area’s transit needs is a population growth rate substantially higher than the statewide average. Previous studies had not incorporated a comprehensive evaluation of modal alternatives. The Newberg-Dundee alternatives analysis was completed in 9 months on a budget significantly lower than budgets for comparable previous studies. Within ODOT, the approach may serve as a model for early integration of environmental and planning activities in alternatives analyses for project development. Explored are innovative aspects of the six-step decision process used in this major investment analysis, which led to a selection of alternatives to be forwarded for detailed evaluation in an environmental impact statement. The paper focuses on management structure, definition of multimodal alternatives, development and application of a quantitative, multiple-criteria evaluation framework, and strategy for compliance with National Environmental Policy Act requirements.