The West Coast Green Highway
The West Coast Green Highway is an initiative to advance the adoption and use of electric and alternative-fuel vehicles along the I-5 corridor, named a "Corridor of the Future" by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Washington, Oregon, California and British Columbia are teaming up to make the I-5 West Coast Green Highway a national model for sustainable transportation infrastructure. In one of the nation’s boldest steps toward a unified alternative-fuel corridor, the partners are working with the private sector and other agencies to lay the groundwork for a smooth and rapid shift to the widespread use of vehicles that run on electricity and other sustainable fuels and to reduce our region’s greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on foreign oil. This partnership will prepare the West Coast transportation infrastructure for more than 2 million new electric vehicles between the three states by 2020.
To further this interstate initiative, the three states signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to work together to foster the use of alternative fuel vehicles. Washington and British Columbia signed a similar agreement to advance the alternative fuels corridor. The initiative supports the Pacific Coast Collaborative Action Plan on Innovation, the Environment, and the Economy.
The West Coast Green Highway has a wonderfully informative and current web site hosted and maintained by the Public-Private Partnerships office of the Washington State Department of Transportation. A broad coalition of interested individuals, businesses, manufacturers and suppliers, nonprofits, and public sector organizations support the site.
Corridor Statistics
The entire I-5 corridor is over 1,350 miles with approximately 550 miles traversing through urban areas. Currently, the average daily traffic throughout the entire corridor is approximately 71,000 with a maximum over 300,000. Average daily truck traffic is near 10,000 with a maximum over 35,000. Among the 550 mile urban segments, over 65 percent is currently under heavy congestion.
Without any further improvement to the corridor, the projected 2035 average daily traffic will be over 150,000 which includes over 22,000 trucks. By 2035, over 95 percent of urban segments will be under congestion. Congestion for non-urban segments will increase from the current 31 percent to over 85 percent.
Study from the Commission for Environmental Sustainablity
