Eugene voters have overwhelmingly approved a measure that will continue the city’s road repair program for another five years.

"I'd like to offer a big thank you to the voters for strongly supporting continued street repair all over town," said Mayor Kitty Piercy. "We'll see improvements that will make a real difference in all our lives."

More than 40,000 people -- almost 65% of voters -- said yes to a five-year, $43 million bond measure to fix streets and fund bicycle and pedestrian projects, according to unofficial final results posted by the Lane County Elections Division on Nov. 7. The bond measure takes effect in 2014 and will continue a bond-funded pavement preservation program that was first approved by local voters in 2008.

“This is a team success,” said Public Works Director Kurt Corey, who cited the courage of the City Council in tackling the issue of ongoing street repair needs, the citizens of Eugene for recognizing the value of investing in the community’s future, local contracting companies for doing excellent repair work and the City staff for working diligently to find innovative, sustainable and cost-effective ways to repair streets.

The bond measure is expected to cost an average of $0.65 per $1,000 of assessed value each year for five years. For an average homeowner in Eugene, this would be about $127 per year. This rate is also the approximate average tax rate levied over the five years of the 2008 bond measure.

At the heart of the 2012 measure is a list of 76 street repair projects. The measure also allocates an average of $516,000 a year for bicycle and pedestrian projects.

Accountability to taxpayers is another cornerstone of the new bond measure. A citizen Street Repair Review Panel, formed in 2008 after the passage of the first street repair bond measure, will continue to monitor the expenditure of bond funds and the completion of repair projects. That group is scheduled to hold its next meeting in late November.