Tolls may be on the way. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is proposing placing tolls on both interstates 5 and 205, between the Columbia River and Wilsonville. The agency is letting the public know that they want input however the tolls would allow the state to invest in other forms of transit, such as bus lanes, light rail and bike and pedestrian paths. In addition, the much talked about I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is on deck.
From the information put out, there won’t be toll booths or places to throw coins. Drivers will have to set up an account. Without an account, cameras would read driver’s license plate and mail a bill. No pricing has been decided.
ODOT seems to have won some victories in directly engaging the public on what it is doing and requesting input. The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project saw it’s share of Zoom meetings. That project has an African-American company as a prime general contractor – Raimore Construction. It’s leader, Jeff Moreland, recently received an honor for the work his company has done with TriMet. Raimore’s high quality of work and leadership in diversity also allowed the company to work with individuals and subcontractors that normally don’t receive opportunities.
ODOT is promoting public access for the tolls proposal. It has stated that the public can submit comments until Jan. 6, 2023. ODOT will be sending out a couple of webinars on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 to further engage the public. The amount of information that has been put out about the high priced road projects on the way can’t be understated.
Raimore Construction has been on local radio KBMS Radio and the Resource Scholars Show educating the public about the importance of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. Much of the information concerns creating stable income to build and stabilize Portland communities of color with a special focus on Black wealth. It has also participated on ODOT zoom meetings that provided data about I-5 and I-205.
I-5 and I-205 reportedly accounts for more than 23,000 crashes between 2015 and 2019. The agency said construction costs for highways and bridges are up 20% since last year. The price of the road projects continue to rise.
The toll prices are expected to change based on the time of day. For instance rush hour rates would be higher than the rest of the day. Those hours and level of variation are not yet set. In addition, the tolling structure proposed by ODOT would be placed over the freeway. The system will use devices to read stickers on drivers’ front windshields. Drivers will not have to stop.
