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The Oregon Transportation Commission on Wednesday joined the Washington State Transportation Commission in approving an Interstate Tolling Agreement for the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program. The intergovernmental agreement establishes a bistate toll subcommittee that will study possible toll rates and policies and then submit recommendations to both state commissions.

The IBR program team is moving toward releasing its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the bridge replacement project. The group is aiming to publish it in April to kick off a 60-day public comment period.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to make sure we make the best out of that public comment period as we can,鈥� Ray Mabey, an IBR assistant program administrator, said during Wednesday鈥檚 OTC meeting.

There will likely be at least 10,000 comments submitted, Mabey said.

The estimated cost of the project is $6 billion. Last year, the Oregon Legislature committed $1 billion to match one made by the Washington State Legislature in 2022. In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the program a $600 million Mega grant.

Additionally, the IBR program team applied to the Federal Highway Administration for a $1.5 billion Large Bridge Project grant through the Bridge Investment Program. The team hopes to hear in the spring whether it will receive the grant. The team also received the Federal Transit Administration鈥檚 authorization to enter the Capital Investment Grants Program project development stage.

While state and federal funding will cover a substantial amount of construction costs, the program鈥檚 2023 financial plan calls for tolls to cover about 20 percent. Oregon and Washington鈥檚 transportation commissions will work together to set toll rates and determine toll policies. They previously approved an intergovernmental agreement to form a bistate subcommittee for the former Columbia River Crossing project and have updated that for the IBR project, Oregon Department of Transportation assistant director Travis Brouwer said. The I-5 Bridge Bi-State Toll Subcommittee will have two members from each state commission. The group鈥檚 first meeting will take place in late February.

The subcommittee will discuss factors such as toll rates by time of day and payment method, truck toll rates, hours of operation, discounts, and exemptions. The rate-setting process and associated community engagement will take place over several months this year.

Toll rates and policies are scheduled to be adopted by both state commissions by late 2025, about six to eight months before tolling begins. In April 2026, tolling is scheduled to begin on the Interstate Bridge as construction commences.