Rep. Hieb: Tolling on Interstate 205 & Interstate 5?

By State Representative James Hieb,

I am a member of the Clackamas Caucus which is comprised of a bi-partisan group of both House and Senate Members with districts within or a part of Clackamas County. One of our legislative priorities as a group was to address the tolling issue on our interstate highways that is being pushed forward by the Oregon Department of Transportation. Tolling will require the Federal Governments approval. Therefore, all 14 members of the Clackamas Caucus signed a letter to Oregon’s Federal Delegation stating, “As bipartisan, bicameral members of the Oregon Legislature representing districts located in Clackamas County, we are writing to raise our serious concerns about the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) current proposal to exclusively toll I-205 ahead of the rest of the Portland metro region – and to respectfully ask for your help and support to elevate our concerns with the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC), ODOT, and other relevant stakeholders so we can reach a meaningful solution for Oregonians. The current proposal for tolling I-205 will lead to more local traffic congestion, reduced road safety, and increased costs to everyday Oregonians; it is fundamentally unfair to our constituents and local businesses, and it will not help create the regional tolling program that OTC aims to establish. For these reasons we are united in our opposition to the current I-205 tolling plan.”

The letter in full can be found here.