If Only . . . Interstate 5 Bridge Debate Rekindles Memories of a 1950s Washington State Tolling Plan

The Columbian posts a column by Don Brunell, retired president of the Association of Washington Business, who writes, “Now, lawmakers in Olympia are scrambling to find the billions needed for the new Interstate 5 Bridge connecting Vancouver and Portland. Predictably, tolling needs to be included in the funding scheme, but it is still a political hot button.” Brunell recalls a tolling plan advanced by Governor Albert Rosellini in the 1950s and suggests, “If only Washington voters had followed [Rosellini’s] tolling plan to build, maintain and replace our state’s major bridges, we would have replacement funds today.”