Oregonian/File

Oregon will ask federal highway officials for permission to toll congested sections of Interstate 5 and 205, but state transportation leaders don’t plan to stop there.

The state’s top transportation decisionmakers also want to develop a plan to study tolling Oregon 217, I-405, I-84, U.S. 26 and other highways in the metro area. They want that plan by the end of January.

Sean O’Hollaren, a state transportation commissioner and Nike executive, said the state had a duty to look beyond just tolling I-5 and I-205 because congestion is an issue everywhere. “We are not being honest if we only look at these corridors,” he said.

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Andrew Theen/Staff

The Oregon Transportation Commission unanimously signed off on a plan to pursue tolling I-5 between Southwest Multnomah Boulevard and North Going Street in Portland and around the Abernethy Bridge in West Linn on I-205.

“We’ve heard consistently from Oregonians across the state that congestion in the Portland metro area is hurting our livability and impacting our economy," said Tammy Baney, the Oregon Transportation Commission's chair. "Tolling can help us both manage demand and finance bottleneck relief projects that will provide people a better commute and help us keep commerce moving."

Baney said before that happens, Oregon will "still have a lot of work to mitigate the potential impacts of tolling, particularly to address the potential impacts on low-income families."

The Legislature set the tolling conversation in motion as part of the 2017 statewide transportation bill. Oregon must apply for federal approval by the end of December. Even then, federal approval would just kickstart years of study. Commissioners will be briefed again on the formal application in November.

The decision to apply for federal tolling authority doesn’t mean tolls are imminent. The plan must first be approved by the feds, and even then, Oregon and Washington commuters are still potentially as long as a decade away from driving on tolled roads.

Here’s what else you need to know right now:

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Jamie Hale/Staff

CRC: Oregon's neighbors across the Columbia River have renewed interest in replacing the 100-year-old Interstate Bridge on I-5, but Washington Democrats and Republicans are simultaneously posturing about the possibility of tolls arriving at their doorsteps. They say some Washington commuters feel singled out or discriminated against by a plan to toll I-5 and I-205. Oregon commissioners disagree.

O’Hollaren said it’s important to “stick to the facts” when discussing the failed Columbia River Crossing project. Oregon held up its share of the deal, he said. The bridge plan died because it wasn’t supported by Washington lawmakers, O’Hollaren said.

“They don’t have a transit option,” he said of Clark County commuters, “because a transit option was presented to them and they voted it down.” Clark County commuters, who work in the metro area by the tens of thousands, should not be singled out, he added. “But they are not victims.” The CRC would have replaced the I-5 bridge with a modern structure with mass transit, bike lanes and better pedestrian access. Washington state lawmakers declined to fund their $500 million share in 2013.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler issued a press release stating she would introduce legislation that prohibits tolls on I-5 and I-205 at the state line without agreement from both states’ governors. It also requires the Federal Highway Administration to issue a formal economic impact study on impacts on Clark and Cowlitz counties.

“If Oregon really does mean what it says — that Southwest Washington voices matter in its tolling decisions — then this bill should serve as nothing but a formality,” Herrera Beutler wrote in the release.

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Andrew Theen/Staff

WASHINGTON TOLLS: Commissioners were presented with a strongly worded letter from U.S. Sen Patty Murray, the Washington Democrat who sits on the powerful federal Appropriations Committee, urging Oregon not to toll all lanes of I-5 and I-205. She instead pushed for studying tolling all highways. "Any study on a longer term pricing program must consider the I-5 crossing, and should occur through a larger, regional conversation," she wrote. Commissioners agreed, O'Hollaren pointed out Washington state has several highway toll projects. He summarized the rationale from Washington officials as disingenuous: "You guys can't do what we have done in Washington state and what we have done successfully in Washington state."

Alando Simpson, another Oregon commissioner, didn’t directly refer to Clark County residents or Washington politicians, but he alluded to groups that are seeking to stop the toll plan in its tracks. “Those that are attempting to derail this process need to look in the mirror,” he said. Martin Callery, an Oregon commissioner from the Coos Bay area, said Washington residents shouldn’t complain about tolls because they work in Oregon but live in Clark County. “That’s what they chose to do,” he said. “That’s where the job was that they chose to pursue. In the long term, whatever we do, they’re going to benefit from it.”

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Oregonian File Photo

DIVERSION: Oregon's plan to study tolls on portions of I-5 and I-205 could give drivers an incentive to ditch the freeway and hit surface streets. That's of particular concern for residents in North Portland's Overlook and Arbor Lodge neighborhoods. The commission said the boundaries of the tolling area aren't set in stone, but diversion is already happening now as drivers use Waze and other navigation programs to try to avoid traffic.

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Oregon 217 pictured in this Oregonian File Photo

THE PORTLAND BELTWAY: O'Hollaren said he envisions a Portland Beltway, doughnut or loop of freeways and highways all tolled to help address crippling congestion. He said it's critical the state study tolls on all those roads, adding that it would allay concerns from Clark County commuters. "Anyone who travels 217 on a daily basis or is on 405, on 26, none of the people are going to say that congestion only happens on 205 or the 5," he said. "It's a farce."

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Biking across the Interstate Bridge is an adventure (Oregonian File Photo)

MULTI-MODAL: Oregon commissioners reiterated their support for using a portion of the generated tolling revenue on multi-modal projects, such as transit or bicycling infrastructure, as a way to give people an option other than driving. Robert Van Brocklin, a Portland attorney, said the state has to be creative. "I don't think there's any city or state in the country that can point to simply adding lane after lane of interstate and solving the [congestion] problem."

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Courtesy of ODOT

ELECTRONIC: While the metro area's tolling future is years out, state officials say there won't be physical toll booths because it will be an electronic-based system. Oregon is also pursuing a variable-priced system, meaning the price to drive on the tolled road would change depending on the time of day and other factors. It's unclear what those prices would be.

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Oregonian/File

BALLOT: Two Republican state lawmakers are hoping to stop ODOT in its tracks and send the tolling issue to voters. State Reps. Julie Parrish and Mike Nearman are leading a plan to require all Oregonians to approve the metro tolling plan. The ballot proposal would require that a majority of all state voters and a majority of voters in each county subject to tolls sign off on the plan. The ballot initiative would mandate all toll revenue go to "net new capacity" for cars and trucks, with no mention of public transit. Backers hope to put the issue on the 2020 ballot.

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-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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