More info:
County Council discussion on tolling Interstate Bridge and Oregon freeways centers on the need for the plan to be project specific and time limited
Councilors plan to vote on a resolution addressing Oregon’s variable rate tolls at Nov. 1 meeting.
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Also read:
- Washington gas prices continue to spike as state readies for carbon auctions
While fuel prices have been rising slightly when looking at the national average, citizens of the Evergreen State are still firmly on the expensive end of the market nationwide. - Transportation commission wants all Washington roads to be toll roadsIn a report submitted to Gov. Jay Inslee and the Washington Legislature, the Washington State Transportation Commission proposed a new tax scheme to replace falling fuel tax revenues.
- Washington Department of Transportation faces $600M projected shortfallResidents of Washington already pay the third highest fuel excise taxes in the nation at 49.4 cents per gallon.
- Washington gas prices reverse course after 13-week declineAfter more than thirteen straight weeks of price declines, Washington fuel prices increased this week.
- Transportation Commission to hear I-5 bridge, tolling technology and airport study updatesThe upcoming Jan. 18 and 19 meeting of the Washington State Transportation Commission will cover several topics including the Interstate 5 bridge replacement project, emerging tolling technologies and possible expansion of commercial aviation in the state.
Washington residents who work in Oregon are getting hosed twice: once to drive to their job and second paying state income tax on earnings.
Before making any commitments I would wait until a new Governor is elected who may have more common sense,
” in Seattle on I-405 and SR167, the cost of collecting toll revenues ran 43 percent prior to the pandemic. In 2021, the cost of collection increased to 68 percent on the I-405/SR167 system.” See County Council discussion on tolling Interstate Bridge and Oregon freeways centers on the need for the plan to be project specific and time limited
The IBR plan to toll both the I-5 and I-205 bridges is already in the works.
According to a post by Cascade Policy Institute
“Tolls are coming to the I-5 and I-205 bridges, and they’re coming more quickly than you would think.
…, the Oregon Transportation Commission circulated a memo with an update on the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR). That memo declared, “Tolling would begin in late 2025 to early 2026.” In a slideshow to the commission, one of the slides projected, “I-205 tolling launches by the end of 2024.”…
The IBR will provide only a “marginal increase in auto capacity,” increase travel times, and charge tolls for the privilege of crossing both the new bridge and the I-205 bridge.”
If the I-5 and I-205 bridges are tolled, soon all the bridges between WA and OR will be tolled, even if it costs 68 cents of every toll $ just to pay the collection costs for the tolls!
That is an incredibly expensive way to pay for a bridge, and very lucrative for the tolling company and the politicians who benefit from that huge profit in donations.
An affordable bridge such as those built in other areas doesn’t require tolls.
If the time specific is 100 years, the so-called life of the bridge, tolls will go up as often as the government pleases. There is nothing in this proposal that sets the actual time limit, nor toll rates, which are set by tolling commissions that in WA are appointed by the governor.
If tolls are implemented, the sky is the limit on how high they will go, and it will likely be for at least 100 years if there is no designated expiration date.
As long as WA and OR suffer under one party rule, which is currently the democrats who favor never ending tax hikes and fees, the tolls will increase as often as they like.
Sorry, but all “things” considered, I must be the curmudgeon on this subject. While it appears that WE, the voters want “project specific and time limited”; based on the past, I believe that TPTB running Oregon (into the ground) will do as they please and not only pull the Golden Gate Bridge ploy on the tolling, but as pointed out by Mr. Hartshorn, continue to hose those residing in Washington, by also implementing Golden Gate Bridge ploy #2, and continue to increase tolls yearly on commuters. This, of course, will most likely bring the majority of commercial traffic to a stop, or, as usual, pass the costs on to the customers.
It’s too bad that TPTB running Clark County and Vancouver have decided to roll over for Portlandia and just be a bedroom community providing “food” for Portlandia instead of making Clark County and Vancouver independent of Portlandia by building a thriving work and business environment for the residents here.
When the I-205 bridge was built, 90% was paid by federal funds. Why isn’t the WTO not paying for future projects on both I-5 and I-205 bridge projects.
Question for those who don’t want specific projects and time limited…why not? Are you saying it’s ok to raise money to be used anywhere and do it forever? Why?