I-5 Bridge tolls closer to reality

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill last week updating the state’s authorization to toll the Interstate 5 Bridge. The move follows a Washington bill Gov. Bob Ferguson signed last month that allows the state to issue $2.5 billion in state bonds to pay for part of the bridge replacement project before tolls make up that cost.

The bills are two recent steps forward in the slow march toward the megaproject, estimated to cost $5 billion to $7.5 billion. Both come after the Trump administration stoked worries earlier this year about whether federal dollars for the project might be withheld.