I-5 Bridge tolls closer to reality

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill last week updating the state’s authorization to toll the Interstate 5 Bridge. The move follows a Washington bill Gov. Bob Ferguson signed last month that allows the state to issue $2.5 billion in state bonds to pay for part of the bridge replacement project before tolls make up that cost.

The bills are two recent steps forward in the slow march toward the megaproject, estimated to cost $5 billion to $7.5 billion. Both come after the Trump administration stoked worries earlier this year about whether federal dollars for the project might be withheld.

“We are grateful for the ongoing leadership and support from both states that has allowed the (Interstate Bridge Replacement) Program to keep moving forward towards construction,” Greg Johnson, who leads the project, said in a statement. “The program has some crucial work that needs to be completed before shovels are in the ground, and we are working hard to ensure progress continues in the right direction to deliver a safer and more modern Interstate Bridge.”

Kotek and the Washington State Department of Transportation did not respond to The Columbian’s request for comment. Ferguson’s communications director pointed The Columbian to his remarks when he signed the bill last month.

That bill notes the two states will split both costs and toll revenues. It then authorizes Washington to issue and sell up to $2.5 billion in state general obligation bonds to finance the project — $900 million more than previously anticipated due to inflation.

The bill says those bonds will then be covered over time by toll revenue, taxes on fuel and motor vehicle license fees. The move enables the project to have the funding it needs to move forward.

Tolls are set to make up about $1.2 billion of the project’s final price tag. Both states have committed about $1 billion on top of that. And federal grants add another $2.1 billion.

The recently signed Oregon bill updates a 2013 bill that initially allowed Oregon to toll. Washington passed a similar law in 2023.

While tolls were initially expected as soon as next spring, project managers now say the fees likely won’t start until summer 2027. Those will be on the existing bridge.

They’ll likely cost between $1.55 and $4.70 per trip across the bridge, according to the project’s website, although trucks may pay more and low-income people may pay less. The numbers have not been finalized.

The project has stayed out of the spotlight in recent months as its staff work to complete the environmental review process. In September, the project released a 10,000-page draft supplemental environmental impact statement.

After the finalized document is released, the project is seeking to quickly get a “record of decision” from the federal government that green-lights construction.

While some federal funding has been disbursed, program managers say the replacement project will need to work with the Federal Highway Administration to access the remainder of those funds after the work has federal approval.

The project expects construction to start in late 2025 or early 2026.

Henry Brannan: 360-735-4530; henry.brannan@columbian.com; @henry_brannan

About the project: The Murrow News Fellowship is a state-funded journalism project managed by Washington State University. Local partners are The Columbian and The Daily News. For more information, visit news-fellowship.murrow.wsu.edu/