11/11/04-A study commissioned by the Washington Legislature suggests a truck-only tollway running from Chehalis to Interstate 90, bypassing the congested Seattle area might work.
The 100-mile toll road would be three lanes wide – one in each direction and some type of passing lane – and for long-haul trucks only. A limited number of exits would be built.
The $500,000 draft study by the state Transportation Department says the corridor “is too long, has too many components and is too complex.”
Instead, the study suggested “further exploration” for a trucks-only road along the stretch between I-90 and Chehalis, a section that has five times as much truck traffic as I-5 between Seattle and Canada.
As envisioned, a private entity would construct the “commerce corridor” and collect tolls. The public might have to chip in for rights of way.
If just half of the 22,000 trucks that roll down I-5 south from Seattle each day used the toll route – at 60 cents per mile, or $60 for a one-way run – its $5 billion price tag could be justified, the study suggests.