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A planning concept that bit the dust in the mid-1990s is back from the dead.

In an effort to improve freight mobility and alleviate traffic congestion in Washington County, Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey is resurrecting the idea of creating a west-side alternative to Interstate 5. The Westside Corridor Concept explores new models for supplementing existing highways in Washington County.

Willey released a white paper on the concept last month and hopes to gain approval in the 2013 legislative session for the Oregon Department of Transportation to study the idea in detail. Opponents, meanwhile, contend that the proposal that died nearly 20 years ago is a bad idea and should be called the 鈥�zombie freewa测.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to do a study of a fairly large area that would facilitate transportation transit for employees, freight mobility, agriculture and people coming from the coast,鈥� Willey said. 鈥淗ow best can we get those people to move through our region in an efficient fashion?鈥�

Approximately 168,000 people travel between Portland and the west side every day, according to the white paper composed by ECONorthwest and Transpo Group. If regional urban reserves were built out as expected by 2035, congestion-related traffic delays could double. With the addition of a 鈥渃onceptual parkway,鈥� however, delay increases would be minimized by approximately 50 percent on I-5, 75 percent on U.S. Route 26, and nearly 100 percent on Oregon Route 217.

The white paper states that the west side鈥檚 transportation system is not seeing investment commensurate with anticipated growth levels. But Mary Kyle McCurdy, policy director and staff attorney for 1000 Friends of Oregon, an environmental advocacy organization, said a new highway is not the answer.

鈥淭his is the corridor that was proposed as the Western Bypass back in the 鈥�80s and early 鈥�90s and was found to be too expensive and ineffective back then to solve any traffic or congestion problems in Washington County,鈥� McCurdy said.

When the Western Bypass was first proposed, 1000 Friends of Oregon paid for its own Land Use Transportation and Air Quality (LUTRAQ) study that identified transportation alternatives, which the organization believed were more environmentally friendly and cost efficient.

The report proposed solutions like extending light rail, improving street patterns in urbanized communities and building residential units around bus lines and transportation links. Similar solutions were chosen instead of the Western Bypass, but not all were completed.

Both U.S. 26 and Oregon 217 were supposed to be widened to six lanes, but only 26 has received improvements. Commuter rail and light-rail services were extended to the west side, but today only the latter receives significant use (65,000 daily MAX riders compared to 1,500 for WES). Frequent bus service was not extended because of diminishing TriMet funding.

McCurdy thinks those types of projects should be completed before a new highway system is considered. She added that today, the percentage of people choosing to drive is smaller than in the mid-鈥�90s, so the idea of a new highway is less relevant.

However, Pat Ribellia, a legislative staffer assisting Willey, noted that the west side鈥檚 鈥淪ilicon Forest鈥� did not exist when the Western Bypass was proposed, and the amount of freight that moved through the county then was a mere fraction of the amount today. Hillsboro, he added, has nearly 40,000 more people today than in 1990.

鈥淭his proposal has a much broader problem statement 鈥� than the old Western Bypass that talked about how to move people from the south to the north,鈥� Ribellia said. 鈥淭his is more important, and just as important to the counties that move timber, that move wine and that move agricultural products.鈥�

Willey pointed out that he is not proposing a specific highway project, but rather a study to identify possibilities.

Ribellia said the LUTRAQ study presented some good ideas, but that a much larger solution is needed. The white paper cost approximately $18,000; Willey estimates a comprehensive study could cost between $3 million and $4 million.

Jill Eiland, northwest region corporate affairs manager for Intel Corp., said transportation needs to be a regional conversation. Product shipments are becoming increasingly difficult because of traffic congestion, she said.

That problem is expected to worsen as Intel鈥檚 D1X and Mod 2 fab centers come online. With approximately 17,000 employees and growing, Intel is a big contributor to the metro area鈥檚 daily commuter traffic, as well as its economy.

鈥淭he traffic challenge in Washington County is bigger than just Intel, so it鈥檚 going to have to be a regional solution,鈥� Eiland said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e working very closely with Hillsboro, Washington County, U.S. Congresswoman (Suzanne) Bonamici鈥檚 office, and all the stakeholders that care about traffic.鈥�

One problem Intel has encountered is that although it encourages employees to use mass transit, few bus lines exist to transport them between MAX stations and Intel鈥檚 campuses. So, the company had to create its own shuttle service.

Meanwhile, TriMet has reduced its services. Willey said he has spoken with agency officials to identify solutions as part of the Westside Corridor Concept. One idea is to completely reroute west-side bus lines to better serve riders.

McCurdy added that a new highway system would necessarily require carving through large swaths of agricultural land. However, Willey said that the urban and rural reserves have been set and any solution would stick within those boundaries. Ribellia said new roadways could benefit farmers by removing urban traffic from agricultural roads 鈥� a growing source of contention in rural communities.

A highway project would cost billions of dollars, but Willey said it鈥檚 too early to talk about funding and that any endeavor would need to be accomplished in baby steps. McCurdy doesn鈥檛 see it.

鈥淲hy study something that isn鈥檛 going to be effective or efficient and will cost a lot of money when the region is struggling to find funds for the Columbia River Crossing 鈥� whatever one may think of that,鈥� McCurdy said.