Oregon

[doorknob60]

https://www.portofhoodriver.com/port-of-hood-river-to-implement-fully-electronic-tolling-starting-april-1

The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge will be going cashless starting on April 1st...

I really hoped they would have become interoperable with other toll transponders before they went that route. I use the bridge maybe a couple times per year, so I've considered a transponder, but ultimately decided it's probably not worth it (especially since they started taking credit cards). But I might end up getting one with this change.

I saw they have a $3 administrative fee per crossing for toll by mail, which would make the toll $6.50. But I think that the fee does not apply if you go pay it online within 7 days, so I guess that's okay. Still, I remember when the bridge was $0.75 haha. But I understand the increases, they want a new bridge.

But now I just looked at their TOS, and they may terminate accounts with no use after 24 months and charge a $10 fee. What a pain, I don't think my Goodtogo, Fastrak, or E-Pass accounts do that.

[vdeane]

Yeah, I don't see why interoperability would be "ceding control".  Even E-ZPass is really just a unified branding and series of interoperability of agreements; each state still issues its own transponders, maintains its own accounts, and sends the bill to other states for users with non-local (but still E-ZPass) transponders.  It's basically boils down to "if we read your transponder, we'll send you the bill, and if you read our transponder, you'll send us the bill".

[Amaury]

https://www.portofhoodriver.com/port-of-hood-river-to-implement-fully-electronic-tolling-starting-april-1

The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge will be going cashless starting on April 1st...

Not a huge deal for me, personally. I don't carry cash and only use my debit card. Only time I use cash is when I get tips and want to get rid of the cash and then use my debit card to pay for the rest.

[stevashe]

https://www.portofhoodriver.com/port-of-hood-river-to-implement-fully-electronic-tolling-starting-april-1

The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge will be going cashless starting on April 1st...

Not a huge deal for me, personally. I don't carry cash and only use my debit card. Only time I use cash is when I get tips and want to get rid of the cash and then use my debit card to pay for the rest.

Well, fully electronic rolling does mean that they won't be taking debit and credit cards at the tollbooths anymore either. Just transponders and pay-by-plate.

With regards to interoperability, the plan with the proposed tools on the new I-5 bridge does include compatibility with Good to Go, so it really would make sense to add the Hood River and Cascade Locks bridges to the same system as well.

[Amaury]

Is that the one where they take a photo of your license plate and then send you a bill in the mail and you pay online? If so, I'm already familiar with that, as I've done that with the WA 520 bridge and WA 99 tunnel.

[stevashe]

Is that the one where they take a photo of your license plate and then send you a bill in the mail and you pay online? If so, I'm already familiar with that, as I've done that with the WA 520 bridge and WA 99 tunnel.

Yes, same idea.

[pderocco]

But now I just looked at their TOS, and they may terminate accounts with no use after 24 months and charge a $10 fee. What a pain, I don't think my Goodtogo, Fastrak, or E-Pass accounts do that.

That seems illogical. The cost borne by them is for keeping your account open. If that's a real cost, they should charge a $10 fee every 24 months, and leave the account active.

[xonhulu]

I'm happy to report that US 8 and US 47 are still signed in Forest Grove.

Sadly, someone finally noticed the error:

[pderocco]

I'm happy to report that US 8 and US 47 are still signed in Forest Grove.

Sadly, someone finally noticed the error:

How are we supposed to get to Wisconsin now?

[xonhulu]

How are we supposed to get to Wisconsin now?

ODOT won't help you there any more.  But they will still help you get to Pittsburgh:

 

[Stephane Dumas]

I'm happy to report that US 8 and US 47 are still signed in Forest Grove.

Sadly, someone finally noticed the error:

US-8 and US-47 is archived on Google Streetview. https://maps.app.goo.gl/JT3Ktrc58qPhtxof7

ODOT won't help you there any more.  But they will still help you get to Pittsburgh:

 

J. Jonah Jameson might like it.

Btw, is there still some surviving US-99 signs in Oregon?

[xonhulu]

Btw, is there still some surviving US-99 signs in Oregon?

I'm pretty sure there is no surviving US 99 signage, if by that you mean signs that date to when US 99 still existed in Oregon.  The last one was (arguably) this sign in Corvallis that lasted until several years ago:



However, there are probably some accidental US 99 shields around.  I've seen several throughout the years:



I don't know if any of these are still around, though. I'd have to check on GSV.

This sadly is a pretty common mistake in Oregon, as well as the reverse error of signing a US route with a state shield.

[Bickendan]

Although I don't personally consider US 99 shields a 'mistake'...

[Bruce]

They're a nice treat and don't really affect route legibility. Folks don't care that the shape on the black silhouette is a bit pointier than what they're used to.

[xonhulu]

No argument here, they're harmless and fun.  Here's a few more Oregon's given us through the years:

[pderocco]

No argument here, they're harmless and fun.

Would you say that about interstates? I don't think that it's only road geeks whose brains key off the type of shield when following route signs. I was aware of the differences when I was a little kid, and even remember when interstate shields first started to appear. (I'm that old.) So while I wouldn't call them "harmful", and they're certainly amusing, they're going to cause some people to miss the occasional turn and get lost.

It's strange. All over the place, we see DOTs screwing up signage. Yet they manage to build roads and bridges that work fine, stripe roads correctly, and put up traffic lights that work coherently. Do they have special departments where they put all the stupid people, and say, "What can we let them do? How about putting up signs? Any idiot can do that." How hard is it to teach a state DOT employee that there are three types of routes: state, US, and interstate, and they all have different types of signs?

[ClassicHasClass]

I find the "US" 99s harmless because it was once US 99, and the route number is the same. If Caltrans or WSDOT did this for CA 99 or WA 99, I think we'd all find it amusing too.

However, I dislike US routes getting downgraded (the "OR 395" shields in John Day drive me crazy) even more than I dislike mistaken US shields for routes that were never US highways.

I also agree with you that getting Interstates and US highways mixed up is really obnoxious - especially that picture above with blue banners and arrows, but a "US" 5.

It's a hierarchy of dislikes. 

[xonhulu]

If it makes you feel better, most of those I pictured have since been replaced.  The I-5, US 20, 395, 26, 199, 730, and OR 103, 82, 58, 202 and 205 shields in those photos have all been corrected.

I'm pretty sure the OR 30 and OR 101 shields are still out there, and I'm unsure of the rest in that last batch.  The US 19's in my earlier post are also still there as of October.

That isn't to say there aren't others.  I'm fairly sure you can still find OR 20 on a BGS in Philomath and on a shield off-highway in Wren, for instance. And I also believe you can still find this quaint OR/US hybrid 58 shield near Lowell:

[PNWRoadgeek]

If it makes you feel better, most of those I pictured have since been replaced.  The I-5, US 20, 395, 26, 199, 730, and OR 103, 82, 58, 202 and 205 shields in those photos have all been corrected.

I'm pretty sure the OR 30 and OR 101 shields are still out there, and I'm unsure of the rest in that last batch.  The US 19's in my earlier post are also still there as of October.

That isn't to say there aren't others.  I'm fairly sure you can still find OR 20 on a BGS in Philomath and on a shield off-highway in Wren, for instance. And I also believe you can still find this quaint OR/US hybrid 58 shield near Lowell:

I understand why they would make these US highway shield for state highways, but why for a random OR 58 junction of all things? I guess since people wouldn't use that junction very much it would be harmless fun though, plus, the US 99 ones are a cool flashback to what that road once was.

[Bruce]

Sadly that one is long gone: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JipPihr6MtmcViXK9

[xonhulu]

Sadly that one is long gone: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JipPihr6MtmcViXK9

Bummer.  I liked that little oddball shield.

[Bruce]

A $1 billion accounting error: https://www.wweek.com/news/2025/02/26/in-extraordinary-hearing-odot-explains-billion-dollar-budget-blunder/

[Plutonic Panda]

A $1 billion accounting error: https://www.wweek.com/news/2025/02/26/in-extraordinary-hearing-odot-explains-billion-dollar-budget-blunder/

That's better than the 83 trillion dollar Citibank error.

[Rothman]

A $1 billion accounting error: https://www.wweek.com/news/2025/02/26/in-extraordinary-hearing-odot-explains-billion-dollar-budget-blunder/

Heh.  This sounds like it came down to poor supervision of an entry-level analyst with an Excel spreadsheet.

[PNWRoadgeek]

There has recently been some talk among the City of Hillsboro about improving the 185th corridor. I don't know what this would exactly mean for the road as a whole, but one of the mentioned upgrades was the 185th/Baseline intersection, which is infamous for having a railroad crossing right next to it on 185th. What's also interesting about this intersection is that in order to access 185th northbound from Baseline eastbound, a large set of slip lanes must be used. This is problematic because this means that traffic heading onto 185th NB from Baseline EB must go through the intersection twice, creating a long slog of an intersection.

Another reason this intersection is bad is because of the light cycle, the MAX combined with the intersection itself makes things once again, a slog to get through, specifically for southbound 185th traffic. Also, having your railroad crossing right near a major intersection of 2 arterial roads that both carry significant amounts of traffic, specifically Baseline, which is a straight shot into Downtown Hillsboro, is nearing on, if not IS gridlock.

185th is well known around the west metro for being one of the most significant, heck, maybe THE most significant(along with Murray, CornPass, and OR 217) north-south arterial. It is jammed all throughout rush hour as lots of it's traffic diverts onto southerly east-west arterials(such as the aforementioned Baseline and TV Hwy, but also OR 10/Farmington), it also serves the unincorporated community of Aloha, and provides access to southern and eastern Hillsboro as well as western Beaverton via smaller, more niche collector and arterial roads.

Another problematic intersection is 185th and Evergreen Pkwy, which is once again, a gridlock mess. Evergreen has a traffic signal literally ONE BLOCK to the east which is incredibly problematic especially if the lights are not synced. This intersection is also located right near Highway 26, and obviously, along with this intersection being located in Tanasbourne, that is a recipe for business and traffic disasters. There's also a signal at 185th and Cornell not too far south from Evergreen. I don't even know how to fix this mess, and even though this wasn't included in the mentioned proposals from what I saw(despite this being the only major intersection on 185th that is fully in the Hillsboro city limits), it is desperately needed.

The City of Hillsboro is definitely eyeing up this corridor for a reason, and I think these two intersections, along with some other smaller issues with the road, are definitely part of the reason why. Admittedly, I do not go on 185th much, so I can't speak as well as some others possibly might, but these are my thoughts.