In yet another ominous sign for the Oregon Department of Transportation, a member of the Oregon Transportation Commission voted “no” on the agency’s ambitious plan to expand five miles of I-5 between Portland and Vancouver.
It’s the first time an OTC member has ever voted against the project.
It happened at the OTC meeting Monday where commissioners were asked to approve a request by ODOT to add nearly $2 billion in funding to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR). The funding has already been identified from a range of sources (including state general obligation bonds, future toll revenue, a federal grant, and so on) and the OTC was being asked to amend the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) to reflect the additional funding…