i-215
Dec 13, 2006, 9:48 PM
9W would need tolls, too, report says
Newberg-Dundee bypass - Toll prices on both routes would depend upon who gets exempted and state funding
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
LISA GRACE LEDNICER and JAMES MAYER
A private toll road bypassing Newberg and Dundee could work financially and politically if motorists who use Oregon 99W also pay the toll, with residents and visitors getting a free pass, the Australian company exploring the idea said Tuesday.
Any tolling option chosen needs to ensure that the traffic causing the problem "pays for the solution," Nick Hahn, project manager for the Macquarie Infrastructure Group, told the Oregon Transportation Commission at a meeting in Portland.
The company's 167-page report said a toll of $3.50 for through-traffic on both roads, with Newberg and Dundee residents paying a flat fee of $1 to use the bypass, would bring in enough money to build and run the bypass for 50 years but only if taxpayers put up $150 million. Eliminating all public support for the project would require a $5 toll.
Macquarie, one of the world's largest toll-road operators, would put up $379 million in construction costs. The state would contribute $50 million towards construction and $100 million to buy the right of way to build the 11-mile bypass, according to Macquarie's proposal. The firm would operate the road under an agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation, with ownership reverting to the state after five decades.
The report, which mentions nontoll financing options only briefly, is the most detailed to date of how tolling could help pay for the Newberg-Dundee bypass. If the state pursues Macquarie's proposal, it will serve as a blueprint for using tolls to pay for other costly road projects, such as widening the southern portion of Interstate 205 and building a new Sunrise Corridor highway from I-205 to Damascus.
Transportation commissioners questioned the assumption that ODOT would commit $150 million to pay for the road. Commissioner Gail Achterman noted that by 2008, when Macquarie proposes to begin building the bypass, the transportation agency will have only $50 million a year to invest in new projects for the entire state.
Yamhill County officials said they need more time to study the report before deciding which financing option makes the most sense.
"It's hard for me to sense how people are going to react to this," said Yamhill County Commissioner Leslie Lewis, who said she prefers putting tolls on just the bypass. "Clearly, they reacted badly to tolling the entire corridor. Whether this will have any public acceptability, I don't know."
Yamhill County residents and officials have been pushing for the bypass for decades as traffic has increased on 99W, which links the Portland area with the county's wine country, the Oregon Coast and Spirit Mountain Casino. But the project has never been a high priority in a state with dwindling resources for highway projects and many pressing transportation needs.
Macquarie signed an agreement with the state in April to study the project's feasibility. Tuesday's report is one in a series of "milestones" in the agreement that allows either party to pull the plug on the project. If Macquarie ends up signing an agreement with the state, the bypass could open for motorists in 2011.
Newberg-Dundee bypass - Toll prices on both routes would depend upon who gets exempted and state funding
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
LISA GRACE LEDNICER and JAMES MAYER
A private toll road bypassing Newberg and Dundee could work financially and politically if motorists who use Oregon 99W also pay the toll, with residents and visitors getting a free pass, the Australian company exploring the idea said Tuesday.
Any tolling option chosen needs to ensure that the traffic causing the problem "pays for the solution," Nick Hahn, project manager for the Macquarie Infrastructure Group, told the Oregon Transportation Commission at a meeting in Portland.
The company's 167-page report said a toll of $3.50 for through-traffic on both roads, with Newberg and Dundee residents paying a flat fee of $1 to use the bypass, would bring in enough money to build and run the bypass for 50 years but only if taxpayers put up $150 million. Eliminating all public support for the project would require a $5 toll.
Macquarie, one of the world's largest toll-road operators, would put up $379 million in construction costs. The state would contribute $50 million towards construction and $100 million to buy the right of way to build the 11-mile bypass, according to Macquarie's proposal. The firm would operate the road under an agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation, with ownership reverting to the state after five decades.
The report, which mentions nontoll financing options only briefly, is the most detailed to date of how tolling could help pay for the Newberg-Dundee bypass. If the state pursues Macquarie's proposal, it will serve as a blueprint for using tolls to pay for other costly road projects, such as widening the southern portion of Interstate 205 and building a new Sunrise Corridor highway from I-205 to Damascus.
Transportation commissioners questioned the assumption that ODOT would commit $150 million to pay for the road. Commissioner Gail Achterman noted that by 2008, when Macquarie proposes to begin building the bypass, the transportation agency will have only $50 million a year to invest in new projects for the entire state.
Yamhill County officials said they need more time to study the report before deciding which financing option makes the most sense.
"It's hard for me to sense how people are going to react to this," said Yamhill County Commissioner Leslie Lewis, who said she prefers putting tolls on just the bypass. "Clearly, they reacted badly to tolling the entire corridor. Whether this will have any public acceptability, I don't know."
Yamhill County residents and officials have been pushing for the bypass for decades as traffic has increased on 99W, which links the Portland area with the county's wine country, the Oregon Coast and Spirit Mountain Casino. But the project has never been a high priority in a state with dwindling resources for highway projects and many pressing transportation needs.
Macquarie signed an agreement with the state in April to study the project's feasibility. Tuesday's report is one in a series of "milestones" in the agreement that allows either party to pull the plug on the project. If Macquarie ends up signing an agreement with the state, the bypass could open for motorists in 2011.