Politics & Government
A Northwest Passage Highway For The West Side? A Bill Would Make it Possible
The bill, introduced Wednesday by Representative Rich Vial, would allow for the creation of a special district to oversee building the road.
Rich Vial, the newly-elected Republican representative from Washington County, has only been in Salem a few weeks but he's already making a splash. Vial's office says that has introduced legislation that could one day lead to the construction of a new highway on the west side.
Vial's bill would allow cities and counties to form special districts that could build and operate so-called limited-access highways such as one that has long been envisioned for Washington County west of I-5.
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Under Vial's proposal, these districts would be empowered to levy taxes or impose tolls to pay for the highways.
The bill, which was first reported by The Oregonian, has some high-level support including from state Senator Mark Hass, Democrat of Beaverton.
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At the same time, it has several obstacles ahead - not the least of which are the fact that the state is looking at a deficit approaching $2 billion and Oregonians tend to be averse both tolls and taxes.
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