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The House and Senate Transportation Committees have voted to advance companion bills authorizing the issuance of bonds of up to $2.5 billion to be paid for with tolling revenue on the Interstate 5 Bridge spanning the Columbia River between Vancouver, Wash. and Portland, Ore., to help fund its replacement.
Prior to the vote on House Bill 1958, committee members voted to make revisions that ramp up the total allowable bonds that could be issued, while also creating a mechanism for issuing and repaying them; originally, HB 1958 would have allowed up to $1.6 billion in bonds issued for the bridge, but the substitute bill now allows up to $2.5 billion, which is the same figure found in its companion bill, Senate Bill 5734.
Speaking prior to Monday's vote, sponsor Rep. Jake Fey, D-Seattle, told colleagues that the bridge replacement is a “very difficult project ... but it's really the lifeline for I-5 and our relationship with Oregon.”
The House Transportation Committee chair added that “we’re still waiting on the final cost for that [bridge replacement], but we do have quite a bit of the money in the pocket so to speak … but as with any project of this consequence, it's going to take user fees to be able to help construct the bridge.”
The creation of a separate bond issuance and repayment structure is intended to “wall off” other Washington tolling facilities so “there's no chance of mingling of funds," Fey said.
Rep. John Ley, R-Vancouver, said his caucus was mixed on the overall bill.
“We understand the need to improve traffic congestion freight mobility," he said. "I's important not only to the state or the West Coast, but the nation for that matter But, there are many concerns some of us have with regards to the total price of the bridge and what is fair for people to pay in terms of user fees on this. There's much more information we would like to see.”
The Senate companion bill differs slightly in that it doesn’t contain the separate bond issuance and repayment structure, while including a provision that bonds could be issued as triple-backed by tolls first, then gas tax and vehicles fees followed by the “full faith and credit of the state.” Or, they could be backed only by tolling revenue.
At the Senate's Tuesday committee vote, Sen. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, said “this is really important, not only to Southwest Washington but to the entire state and I appreciate the support of this [bill].”