October 1, 2002
To: All Highway Division Employees
From: John Rosenberger, Executive Deputy Director
Highway Division
Subject: English Unit of Measurement Conversion
The Oregon Department of Transportation will begin to convert back to the English Unit of Measurement beginning now. This decision follows extensive discussions with the Association of General Contractors (AGC) and the local American Public Works Association (APWA) chapter. This conversion would make the state consistent with Oregon cities and counties by using a single measurement system for road construction projects.
Let me give you some background about how we got to this point. In 1991, Congress and the Federal Highway Administration mandated that all federal-aid construction projects be in metric units by September 30, 1996. ODOT began metric conversion in 1993 and started to contract metric projects in 1996. Since then, Congress has removed the requirement that contract plans be in metric units. After the removal of the metric requirement, most states have reverted back to English, with Oregon being one of eight states that still uses metric units. A total of 35 states use English measurements and an additional seven states use a dual system. In addition, most cities and counties in Oregon continued to use English measurements.
The original intent of the federal mandate was to have all state Dot’s using metric measurements and even though ODOT believes the metric system to be the most efficient system of measurement, it is more important to be in alignment with other state DOTs and our local government partners.
Below are some general timelines for ODOT’s conversion to English units.
January 2003 Begin contracting local projects and state consultant projects in English units
March 2003 Begin gathering survey information in English units
July 2003 Begin development of state projects in English units
April 2004 Begin contracting state projects in English units
October 2005 Most projects contracted in English units
This schedule doesn’t dictate that projects be immediately converted from metric to English. Each project is unique and will be evaluated individually to determine whether to convert to English units or complete the project in metric units. Project schedules will not be delayed for unit conversion.
Local or consultant projects will need to be evaluated to determine if the necessary English measurement contract support items, such as standard drawings, are available (many support items will not be completely converted until July 2003). Most likely the first state English unit projects contracted will be simple preservation projects followed by more detailed modernization projects.
Beginning in October, Allison Hamilton, (503) 986-3558, will be heading up ODOT’s English conversion process. Allison will be forming an English conversion committee and will need ODOT’s full support in making a smooth and timely transition from metric to English measurements.
Cc: Central Services Division
Communications Division
Driver and Motor Vehicles Services Division
Motor Carrier Transportation Division
Public Transit Division
Rail Division
Traffic Safety Division
Transportation Development Division
