The Washington State Senate voted 32-16 on April 5 to approve a bill that would allow the Washington State Transportation Committee to implement tolling on the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.
Senate Bill 5765 now goes to the House for consideration. If it’s approved, it will end up on Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk to be signed into law.
The funds collected would go toward an account that would help pay for the bridge replacement project.
Following the bill’s passage, state Sen. Annette Cleveland, a Vancouver Democrat, mentioned tolls were used to build the existing structures.
“Our grandparents and parents were willing to pay tolls to improve our futures,” Cleveland said. “We must step up now and be willing to make the same investment, so our children and grandchildren can travel safely and benefit from economic opportunities a new bridge will bring to our district. Anything less is selfish and shortsighted.”
North Clark County’s representation in the Senate opposed the bill.
Though on the Senate floor, state Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said tolls are “a bedrock conservative value, because they are, in their purest form, a user’s fee,” she had concerns over tolling measures brought forth by Oregon on Interstate 205.
Rivers said tolls on I-205 would not provide people with an alternative route across the river without paying. Because of that, she said an I-5 bridge toll isn’t a “convenience fee.”
State Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, expressed concerns over the increasing cost of the replacement project, and whether the program would solve her chief concern of alleviating traffic.
“We have to keep our eye on the fact that the number one issue that people want to fix is congestion,” Wilson said.
Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBRP) officials won’t specifically address the legislation, program administrator Greg Johnson said, though tolling is part of the overall financing plan for the replacement. Johnson said Oregon already has the needed approval to implement tolls on its side of the project.
“This will sync up both states to have the ability to toll at the interstate bridge,” Johnson said.
The program is currently in its environmental review process, one of many steps it needs to take before construction on the new bridge can start.
The IBRP currently plans to have a draft environmental review available for public comment by the end of the year, Johnson said. The project’s timeline was pushed back when federal regulators told the program it would have to look at a “moveable span” for the current stage of the project.
Johnson said the previous Columbia River Crossing initially looked at such a configuration, but ruled it out. Although that program, which ultimately failed because Washington did not approve funding, had a permit for 116 feet of clearance from the U.S. Coast Guard, now they are asking for greater clearance and want officials to look at a lift.
“My concern is that we don’t get off schedule,” Johnson said.
Although the environmental review will be pushed back, he said program staff believed the overall timeline of construction could break ground as early as late 2025.
“We are looking at this moveable span, but … the preferred direction from our partners is to still look at the fixed span and mitigate those users who need more than 116 feet,” Johnson said.
Maintaining that overall schedule is important, as Johnson said every day of delay could result in $850,000 worth of inflation costs and other increases through the 10-year construction of the replacement.
When the draft environmental review is published, the IBRP will open up a 60-day public comment period. After that, the program will incorporate the testimony into its final review, which Johnson said should be ready by the end of 2024.
The IBRP currently has a $5 billion to $7.5 billion cost estimate for the project. Of that cost, Washington state has committed $1 billion. Late last month, a draft proposal from Oregon lawmakers showed how that state would make its own $1 billion commitment.
Johnson said having that commitment would help the IBRP secure federal grants the project needs in order to be completed. In January, the project missed out on $750 million in federal funding through the Federal Highway Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 Large Bridge Project. IBRP officials said it was due to how early on in the process the bridge replacement is.
In the time until the draft environmental review is released, Johnson said the project’s advisory groups will continue its meetings. The IBRP will also continually reach out to community groups and plans to have a presence at community events to help spread the word about the current work.
“We don’t want anyone, when we come to the public comment period, to say ‘boy, what is this, and I haven’t heard about it,’” Johnson said.
