A fleet of electric delivery vehicles charges. A new network of stations up and down the West Coast could accelerate the adoption of more electric vehicles across the region. (Mustafa Hussain/Getty Images)
Oregon, California and Washington are getting a major boost from the federal government to advance the shipment of goods by zero-emission trucks on Interstate 5.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is giving the three states $102 million to create a network of charging and fueling stations to power battery and hydrogen-fuel cell semitrucks, according to a news release from Oregon’s congressional delegation on Tuesday. Additional federal funding will also pay Oregon $17 million to create two small-scale electric vehicle charging networks for standard vehicles.
Officials from Oregon, Washington and California transportation agencies pitched the idea of the West Coast zero-emission truck fueling corridor on I-5 to the U.S. Department of Transportation last year. They proposed to use federal money to build at least 34 medium and heavy-duty electric vehicle charging stations and five hydrogen fueling stations primarily along 1,400 miles of I-5 connecting highways to major freight hubs in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.