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Congestion Relief with Variable Tolling
Variable tolling offers a lower toll for drivers who travel during non-peak,
less busy hours of the day. Variable tolling gives some people an incentive to
choose different travel times, reduce optional trips, take an alternate route,
choose transit or carpool. Experiences in other cities in the U.S. and around
the world indicate that variable tolls would help reduce congestion on I-5.
Example Variable Toll Schedule
Rates shown for Scenario 1A weekday: I-5 tolls collected north and southbound
Rates would be highest during peak hours and lower during less-congested times
High tech tools to improve your commute
Electronic signs above lanes give drivers real-time traffic information
related to speed, congestion, or collisions. These signs automatically change
based on current traffic conditions to help keep speed consistent and traffic
moving. The signs may provide information about an accident ahead, or the time
to drive from one point to another. Other technologies can help relieve
congestion and will be studied to see if they will work in this corridor. These
traffic management tools will be independent of the toll structure selected for
the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project.
CRC: a comprehensive, long-term solution
At the I-5 bridge, 135,000 vehicles cross the Columbia River daily. In 2030,
184,000 are predicted to cross if nothing is done. Today, drivers experience 4-6
hours of
congestion at the bridge and by 2030, traffic jams will occur 15 hours of
each weekday if nothing is done. Between 68 and 75 percent of drivers in peak
travel times enter or exit I-5 using one of the seven interchanges in the CRC
project area. As the region’s economy and population continue to grow, so will
the time drivers spend in traffic.
This is especially problematic for freight. As a gateway for domestic and international trade, the Portland-Vancouver area is more transportation-dependent than other cities of similar size, according to a 2005 study.
Freight industries support about 130,000 family wage jobs running warehouses
and distribution centers near the ports of Vancouver and Portland and other
distribution terminals. Without investments in transportation infrastructure, up
to 6,500 jobs per year could be lost by 2025.
The CRC project will use
integrated solutions of a replacement I-5 bridge, light rail, interchange
improvements, a wider bicycle and pedestrian path and variable tolling to meet
goals for reduced congestion, improved safety and increased travel reliability.
The project’s research has shown that these combined solutions will best reach
the goals within the I-5 corridor.