The statewide tour to solicit feedback on transportation priorities recently stopped by Tillamook
Portland, Ore. – Oregon trucking companies attended yesterday’s State Transportation Conversation in Tillamook to advocate for improved transportation infrastructure across the state. The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation (JCT) is hosting 12 meetings across the state this summer and fall to discuss the need for stable and sufficient transportation funding ahead of the 2025 legislative session
During the meeting in Tillamook, Heather Zwald-Taksdal, co-owner of Zwald Transport Inc., advocated for ODOT to stabilize the embankment along Highway 6 and to prioritize the transportation projects already promised in HB 2017, the state’s most recent transportation package which funded congestion-reducing projects, highway and bridge projects, transit projects, and more.
“In addition to Highway 6, I would urge you to prioritize completing the existing projects along Portland’s key freight routes, for example OR-217, I-205 and I-5 through the Rose Quarter,” said Zwald-Taskdal. “These are key trade routes for our local, regional, and international economies and the current bottlenecks on each of these major highways means trucks spend more hours idling, increasing air pollution and impacting the bottom line who depend on these routes to move goods. These projects were already initiated way back in 2017. It’s long past time we move them forward.”
Oregon trucking companies across the state are urging ODOT to finish the lane improvement projects it already promised through the Rose Quarter, OR-217, and I-205. These highways are key trade routes for regional, national, and international economies, with tens of millions of dollars of daily freight passing through the Rose Quarter, specifically, between Oregon and Washington via the Port of Portland.
“These highway improvement projects play a key role in our statewide transportation system,” said Jana Jarvis, President & CEO of the Oregon Trucking Association. “Our members across the state are impacted by the bottlenecks on these main highways in Portland. Before we look to future projects, we are urging ODOT to build out the infrastructure improvements that they committed to completing years ago.”
Trucking companies across the state will continue to participate in the statewide tour to advocate not only for progress on existing transportation projects, but also for a funding system for ODOT that taxes both passenger vehicles and trucks fairly.