30 Oregon Trucking Association, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch ODOT to Face Budget Shortfall Following Gov. Kotek’s Decision to Delay Tolling Indefinitely THE FIRST TOLL road in the United States opened in 1792. Today, 38 states have toll roads, bridges, and tunnels, in addition to express lanes and other toll facilities, resulting in $17.4 billion in estimated toll revenue across the country every year. Commercial trucks pay about 30% of the toll revenue collected annually, according to the American Transportation Research Institute. Oregon, however, is one of the 12 states that have yet to implement tolling, a distinction that was due to change later this year until Governor Tina Kotek paused tolling plans in the Portland metro region indefinitely. Since 2017, Oregon transportation officials have been exploring and planning for the implementation of tolls on freeways in the Portland metro area, including portions of I-5 and I-205 through the Regional Mobility Pricing Plan. Those tolls were originally intended to go into effect in late 2024. In March 2023, Kotek issued a temporary moratorium on new tolls, pushing the implementation of the first tolls to at least January 2026. This delay was intended to give the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) additional time to update its financial plan. In early March 2024, Kotek said in a letter to the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) that the ODOT report shows the challenges of tolling “have grown larger than the anticipated benefits,” and called on the OTC to pause the Regional Mobility Pricing By Jennifer Sitton | OTA Communications Consultant Plan, abruptly and indefinitely stopping the effort to implement tolling along freeways in the region. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the OTC quickly indicated their willingness to follow Kotek’s new approach on tolling. Scaling Back I-205, Abernethy Bridge Projects Under the Regional Mobility Pricing Plan, the first tolls were to be implemented on the Tualatin and Abernethy Bridges
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