Oregon dumps idea of private toll road in wine country

07/27/2007

Associated Press

A bypass proposal around a crowded state highway through Oregon's wine country will have to be scaled back after a consultant said tolls wouldn't raise enough money to build a private road, state officials said Friday.

The idea of a public-private joint venture also has been set aside for now.

The proposed 11-mile Newberg-Dundee bypass of part of Oregon 99W in Yamhill County has been in the works for years, but its cost is currently estimated at about $500 million.

The department said Friday that price tag is "is beyond what any of the funding mechanisms, public or private, can support at this time," so it has ended a public-private effort and will go back to the drawing board.

The state had brought in an Australian company, Macquarie Infrastructure Group, that specializes in private toll roads.

Macquarie said a private road wouldn't be successful unless tolls were levied as well on the existing highway — otherwise drivers would avoid the toll road.

Many Yamhill County residents opposed the idea of paying tolls on a road built long ago, lining the existing highway with signs in opposition.

The transportation department said Friday a Bear Stearns analysis confirmed that tolls on the bypass alone would fall short.

The Bear Stearns report suggested considering a public toll road, but that idea is unlikely to include tolls on the existing highway, department spokesman Dave Thompson said Friday.

"The community was dead-set against it," he said. "The idea of tolling the existing corridor was one of the first things that was shot down."

The manager of the department's regional office, Jeff Scheick, said it would take a "fresh look" at the project. "At the appropriate time, we will work with stakeholders to define an affordable project that works for the state and residents of Yamhill County," he said.