With the help of $1.32 million in federal Recovery Act funding, the State of Washington will build an "electric highway," a network of public access electric vehicle recharging locations along Interstate 5, the first in the nation

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"Washington state is a leader in creating green jobs, adopting new clean technologies and we are poised to do it again with electric vehicles," said Gov. Chris Gregoire. "Providing the nation's first true electrified highway (I-5) will benefit Washingtonians and show the rest of the country how we can use innovative partnerships to solve some of our most difficult challenges like climate change and our dependence on oil."

The electric highway will support plug-in electric vehicles and enable electric vehicle drivers to travel the length of the state along the 276 miles of I-5 between Washington's borders with Oregon and Canada. As many as 300,000 electric vehicles are anticipated on Washington roads during in the next 10 years.

"About half of Washington's greenhouse gas emissions come from tailpipes, and electric vehicles provide one of the fastest ways to slash that pollution and move us to a more sustainable energy future," said Ross Macfarlane, Climate Solutions senior business partnerships advisor.

The state will partner with private companies to install fast charging infrastructure in critical charging zones. The first charging sites will be placed along I-5 north of Everett and south of Centralia. The work on I-5 will be complemented with deployments along I-90 to include Central Washington.

The project supports the state's efforts on the West Coast Green Highway, a tri-state initiative to promote the use of cleaner fuels along the 1,350 miles of I-5 from British Columbia to Baja California. Washington's network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure could jump start the development of a regional EV network spreading across the entire length of I-5 connecting three states and three countries and serving the 2 million electric vehicles anticipated on the West Coast. In February, Gregoire signed an action plan with leaders from Oregon, California, and British Columbia to establish I-5 as a green highway by building infrastructure for alternative fuels and electric vehicle charging.

For more information on the Electric Highways project, click here.