Oregon will install up to eight electric vehicle fast-charging stations along Interstate 5 from Eugene south to the California border.

These are being done through a public-private partnership with ECOtality.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been awarded $700,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funds to pay for the project. This will complement the current deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure along I-5 from the Portland Metro area down to Eugene.

"Our vision for Oregon is to create an electrified highway so that Oregonians, and our visitors, can travel throughout our state on business and leisure using the next generation of clean, electric vehicles," said Governor Ted Kulongoski.

In February, the governors of Oregon, Washington and California and the Premier of the Province of British Columbia signed an agreement pledging to work toward building a "Green Highway" up and down Interstate 5. The goal of the plan is to develop sufficient EV charging infrastructure to drive an EV from British Columbia to Baja California. This project builds on the efforts recently approved in Washington State to extend the charging network outside of urban areas along the I-5 corridor. This grant covers the last link to be funded from the Canadian to the California border.

Because EV drivers would have to wait for charging, officials have preliminarily targeted host sites for the stations at or near I-5 interchanges with travel plazas and commercial enterprises that offer services such as restaurants or convenience stores. Possible locations include:

Exit 174, Cottage Grove
Exit 148, Rice Hill
Exit 120, Roseburg
Exit 99 , Canyonville
Exit 76 , Wolf Creek
Exit 58 , Grants Pass
Exit 30 , Medford
Exit 14 , Ashland
(Actual locations may change)

Truckstop group NATSO praised the fact that the project is targeting travel centers and other commercial enterprises.

Two years ago, NATSO wrote to the Federal Highway Administration to object to an application submitted by Oregon, Washington and California to commercialize rest areas with electric charging infrastructure, food and other services.

"We applaud Oregon's decision to work in partnership with exit businesses, rather than to jeopardize them by commercializing rest areas," NATSO President and CEO Lisa Mullings said. "We hope the states of Washington and California will follow Oregon's lead and develop similar innovative partnerships with exit businesses."