U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, has introduced legislation that would require the governor of Washington to give approval before Oregon could implement an extensive tolling plan on Portland area interstate freeways.
Since last year, Oregon has been crafting a plan to place tolls, or “value pricing,” on Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 as a means of managing congestion and generating revenue. The plan has faced resistance in Clark County, where nearly 70,000 residents commute to Oregon for work.
Herrera Beutler’s bill, the I-5 Cooperation Act, would require an agreement signed by both states’ governors before any tolls could be collected on I-5 and I-205 between state Highway 500 in Washington and U.S. Highway 30 in Oregon, according to a press statement.
Before any agreement could be signed, the legislation requires the Federal Highway Administration to complete an economic impact study on how tolling would impact businesses, residents and tribes in Clark and Cowlitz counties.
In July, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee pushed back on Oregon’s tolling plans, saying that he had directed the Washington State Department of Transportation to make sure that Southwest Washington residents are heard and that their “interests are protected in any tolling discussion.”
Plans for tolling need to be approved by the federal government and are years away. The most recent step toward implementing Oregon’s tolling plans happened on Thursday when the Oregon Transportation Commission met in John Day, Ore. According to an ODOT press release, the commission accepted the recommendations from the Portland Region Value Pricing Advisory Committee, a 25-member panel of government officials and other leaders from across the region, to seek tolls on two segments of I-5 and I-205. Specifically, the recommendations included tolling all I-5 lanes on a roughly 7-mile stretch between Northeast Going Street and Southwest Multnomah Boulevard, through the city center. The other area would be on or near the George Abernethy Bridge on I-205, near Oregon City.
The Portland Region Value Pricing Advisory Committee was split on a more ambitious plan favored by the city of Portland that would toll all lanes of I-5 and I-205.
Although a press release from ODOT states that the commission accepted recommendations to seek limited tolling on I-5 and I-205, a press release from Herrera Beutler suggested it was a step toward more the expansive plan.
“Until Oregon formally scraps plans to toll I-5 and I-205 at the state line without providing a specific plan to benefit those who will pay, Washington commuters deserve to have a safeguard written into law that will protect them — and that’s what my bill does,” according to her statement.
The Oregon Transportation Commission has now directed the Oregon Department of Transportation to prepare an application to the Federal Highway Administration for approval to toll these segments. The application will be presented to the commission in November before being sent to the federal government.
