Motorists won’t have to pay a toll on the Interstate 205 bridge across the Columbia River, at least if the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council has anything to say about it.
The RTC approved a resolution Tuesday clarifying that it does not support tolling I-205.
The council of local elected officials and transportation planners is the state-designated transportation planning organization for the Clark County portion of the Portland-Vancouver area.
Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart raised the issue after The Columbian reported that the elected leaders of Clackamas County want a toll on I-205. Lynn Peterson, chairwoman of Clackamas County’s board of commissioners, said the county is primarily worried that tolling a new Interstate 5 bridge may clog I-205 south of Portland with a flood of toll-dodging motorists.
“I’m trying to protect what little capacity I do have left,” Peterson said in a story published Sunday.
The decision on tolling ultimately will be up to the Washington state Legislature and Oregon’s Transportation Commission, but planners with the bistate Columbia River Crossing office say they won’t recommend tolling I-205. Traffic modeling conducted for the CRC indicates relatively few motorists will choose to avoid a $1 or $2 toll on I-5 by steering several miles out of their way to I-205.
Stuart rejects idea
Tolling I-205 would require permission from the federal Highway Administration, which generally approves tolling on interstates only with a specific highway improvement. There are no immediate plans to upgrade I-205, although Peterson said several major projects along the freeway in Clackamas County could benefit from revenue generated by a toll at the Glenn Jackson Bridge.
Stuart flatly rejected that idea.
“If she has projects she wants to do in Clackamas County, that’s great,” he said, “but not with my citizens’ money.”
Stuart, who represents the RTC on the crossing project’s Project Sponsors Council, cited the crossing’s model in his proposed resolution: A one-way toll of $1.50 would divert 2 percent of traffic from I-5 to I-205, while a $4 toll would divert 7.7 percent.
Stuart, who is running for re-election this fall, said the model suggests minimizing the toll on Interstate 5.
“If you’re worried about diversion rates, the best thing would be to have low or no tolls on I-5 to minimize diversion to I-205,” he said. “We as a board do not support tolling the I-205 bridge.”
Project planners anticipate some level of tolling will be necessary on I-5 to generate the local share of a $3.6 billion project.
The project will replace the existing twin three-lane drawbridges with a 10-lane span, improve five miles of freeway on both sides of the river and extend Portland’s light rail transit system to Vancouver.
Planners anticipate a three-way funding split between tolls, the two states and the federal government.
Stuart’s resolution was approved by the Regional Transportation Council on a 5-0 vote.
Three members abstained: Metro councilor Rex Burkholder, CRC co-director Don Wagner and Jason Tell, the Portland area’s regional administrator for the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Erik Robinson: 360-735-4551, or erik.robinson@columbian.com.
