U.S. Representative wants to roadblock Oregon toll proposals

Oregon’s march toward adding tolls to its mix of transportation revenues may have hit a snag this week.

The Oregon Department of Transportation’s plan to toll Portland-area highways hit opposition from a federal lawmaker before it even hit the governor’s desk.

The Oregon Transportation Commission had approved a staff proposal — which includes holding public hearings throughout the state before final approval on tolling— at its Tuesday afternoon meeting. The commission’s vote would send the proposal to Gov. Tina Kotek Friday for her review.

The proposal would add tolls to most of Interstate 5 and I-205 in the Portland metro area.

“I want to stress to anyone this has not been taken lightly,” Commissioner Alicia Chapman said. “We have exhausted every other option. We will have bridges falling into the rivers, if we don’t address this. I oppose the ODOT staff thinking there is any possible way to address these concerns that involves taking tolls off the table, because there is no other way.”

Last week, Oregon lawmakers approved $19 million in emergency funding to make sure the state had sufficient snow plow service to keep roads cleared this winter. ODOT had begun implementing service reductions within maintenance and operations, citing a $56.1 million shortfall caused by a decline in gas tax revenues, record high inflation and limitations on budgeted agency funds.

A separate plan to toll the I-5 Interstate Bridge would help pay Oregon’s share of the cost to replace the multiple-lane span over the Columbia River, between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Both Oregon and Washington lawmakers approved $1 billion in funding for the bridge that is expected to cost between $5 billion and $7.5 billion. They are applying for $3 billion in funding from the federal infrastructure bill and tolls would help make up the difference.

On Wednesday U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer pressured Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt to halt tolling in Oregon during a House Transportation Infrastructure Committee hearing on highway and transit projects to be funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Chavez-DeRemer, whose District 5 includes suburbs south and east of Portland that would be in the tolled area, questioned whether what she called ODOT’s “inadequate efforts to gather public input” could be a breach of federal regulations.

“The public is still unaware of what the proposal plans to do about congestion and new lanes,” Chavez-DeRemer said. ”It is my understanding that ODOT has responded to many cities in my district with dubious assumptions, weak and unrealistic analysis, or even with pertinent information for various locations and intersections omitted for responses as to how tolling is going to impact those communities. ODOT itself last summer even admitted that they missed the mark on this public admission.”

Her remarks came just a day after the ODOT commission approved a staff report on Tuesday outlining the toll proposal.

The commission approved sending the report to Gov. Tina Kotek, who had stalled adopting a tolling program in June requesting that the transportation agency do further research. The proposal — if it’s approved by the governor — would then go through the public hearing process with the aim of tolling operations beginning in early 2026.

“There are many more decisions that need to be made before the program becomes fully operational,” Brendan Finn, manager of ODOT’s Urban Mobility Office, said during the staff presentation.

“I felt the report answered a lot of the questions the governor had,” said Julie Brown, the transportation commission chair.

A separate report outlined a plan to lower the cost of tolls for low-income drivers — in issue that has been a sticking point for opponents.

But the low-income plan won’t apply to the tolls planned for the Interstate Bridge.

ODOT recently announced that it doesn’t have the money to complete some elements of its Interstate 205 construction, so it won’t be tolling one of two bridges on that freeway.

The plan would give a 50% discount to all Oregon and Washington residents who earn up to 200% of the federal poverty level. Members of federally recognized tribes will not have to pay tolls at all, nor will public transit, military and emergency response vehicles.

The plan to introduce tolls has been controversial, according to commissioner comments. Communities along Interstate 205 worry that the tolls will disproportionately affect them. Others say they are worried that people will increase traffic in their neighborhoods by trying to avoid paying the tolls.

The federal government has no plans to make the state re-do the Environmental Impact Report related to the projects, Bhatt said in response to Chavez-Deremer’s queries.

“ODOT has still yet to propose a mitigation plan or strategy, therefore, this entire proposal from ODOT seems like it keeps moving the goalposts. That’s a problem for someone like myself who represents the entire constituency who decided they don’t want tolling,” Chavez-DeRemer said during the House hearing. “The public, like myself — we’re getting frustrated as you can probably hear in my voice. These sorts of plans for tolling are supposed to be presented so motorists, mayors, counties, and small businesses can make meaningful comments.”

Wednesday’s hearing was one of many attempts made by Chavez-DeRemer to halt the plan to enact tolls in the state. The Republican also has introduced several bills in Congress.

During a hearing in October, Chavez-DeRemer said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told her that failing to conduct appropriate outreach could lead to a state’s tolling project being rejected at the federal level.

Chavez-DeRemer brought this to Administrator Bhatt’s attention, who responded by saying he is committed to “working with [Chavez-DeRemer’s] office, ODOT, and all the communities who are impacted to ensure that we follow NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] to the letter of the law and make sure that the public engagement process follows.”

Chavez-DeRemer had language included in the House’s transportation appropriations bill, House Resolution 4820, to prevent federal funds from being used to carry out tolling projects along I-5 and I-205 in Oregon.

Over the summer, Chavez-DeRemer also introduced the No Tolls on Oregon Roads Act to prohibit the use of federal funds for tolling on I-5 and I-205 and to prevent the DOT from approving I-5 and I-205 tolling projects. Her intent was to block tolling on the two roadways.

“Oregonians are understandably fed up with the state’s attempt to hastily implement tolling, and I want to give drivers peace of mind by making the current ‘pause’ permanent,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement of her legislative attempts to block tolling in the state.

She has also introduced the Tolling Transparency Act in August, which would require the federal DOT to conduct an Economic Impact Study, in addition to the EIS required by NEPA, for any major tolling project and prevent the implementation of tolling until the study is complete.

The next move will likely come from Kotek after she receives ODOT’s report on Friday.