Previous Phase: Understand

The Understand phase identified the overall issues along the Portland to Eugene rail corridor to ensure an appropriate range of alternatives were selected to consider as the Environmental Impact Statement moves forward.

The project Purpose and Need statement was developed in the Understand phase. ODOT held a series of public meetings in September 2012 to get input to help refine the Purpose and Need statement, draft the project goals and objectives, and identify alternatives to be considered.

Current Phase: Evaluate

The project is currently in the Evaluate phase. The Evaluate phase takes the corridor concepts developed in the Understand phase and screens them in two steps. First, the corridor concepts will be screened against the project Purpose and Need. Then, the concepts that “pass” the first screen will go through a more detailed evaluation against a set of criteria. The results will be published in a Draft Tier 1 EIS that will be available for public review.

Future Phase: Recommend

Finally, in the Recommend phase, ODOT will work with the public to identify a preferred alternative and prepare a Final Tier 1 EIS.

The graphic below shows the general process for the Oregon Passenger Rail EIS, along with key outreach points.