I was pleased with your front-page story on Jan. 11, “Inslee: Light rail is a must.” Jake Thomas reported that Gov. Jay Inslee says light rail will be necessary on any interstate bridge replacement “because Oregon will pay for half of the project and has insisted that it be included.”
In 2013, Oregon’s Legislature and governor agreed to pay their $450M share of the CRC project costs. That came to about 15 percent of the $2.8 billion to $3.5 billion official cost estimates. An under-reported aspect of that agreement was where Oregon would get those dollars. According to Oregon House Bill 2800, Oregon’s $450 million in bonds would be repaid primarily from toll revenues. In other words, the state of Oregon didn’t plan to use very much of its own money for the mega-project six years ago. That seems to have changed.
If Oregon will actually pay for half of the project, then any federal funds or toll revenue will decrease Washington’s share of the price tag. That deal could be a game-changer. Hopefully this promise sticks better than “Mexico will pay to build the wall.”
