Tolling Nightmare Coming to the Northwest: Governor Kotek Set to Bleed You Dry

Brace yourself for freeway tolling here in the Northwest that’s going to be much worse than the fees paid by New York City commuters. Hard to believe, I know, but the tolling fix appears to be in. Eight months ago, Governor Tina Kotek ordered ODOT to halt its tolling plan for freeways after they had already spent $60 million on it. Now that the election’s over, brace yourself for Kotek to bring them back.

The governor is moving forward with plans for a new, but no bigger, Interstate Bridge over the Columbia. Light rail, at $1 billion a mile, is the most expensive on Earth. Construction begins in less than 18 months, or so they tell us. Estimates of its cost top $9 billion, with no guarantee that won’t increase. The region has less than HALF that much cash lined up.

The rocket scientists engineering this new bridge put the top-end estimate of tolls at MORE than $9 a day, or more than $2,000 a year for a daily commuter. ODOT also has plans to toll other highways for “congestion relief.” Translation: price the poor people off the roads. Even in New York City, Governor Kathy Hochul has announced plans to cut congestion tolling to no more than $9 a day because current tolls at $15 are killing commuters, businesses, and visitors. I wonder if Tina Kotek gives a damn about that, or if she’s just interested in stripping as much moolah as she can out of your pockets.