West Coast Electric Highway Charges Ahead

Construction began this week on the state’s first public charging station that can recharge electric vehicles in 30 minutes.

The Bellingham DC fast charging station is the first sign of a border-to-border network of public electric-vehicle charging stations and the first stop on Washington’s segment of the West Coast Electric Highway along 276 miles of Interstate 5 between the state’s borders with Oregon and Canada.

The Washington State Department of Transportation selected Bellingham to break ground on the state’s segment of the Electric Highway because the city’s commitment to a sustainable future goes hand-in-hand with the WSDOT’s leading role in developing new transportation infrastructure necessary for drivers to make the switch to electricity.

“The transition from gasoline and foreign oil to alternative fuels, such as electricity, for transportation requires a huge first step – infrastructure,” said state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond in recognition of Wednesday’s groundbreaking of the West Coast Electric Highway’s first DC fast charge station at Sehome Village Shopping Center in Bellingham.

The Electric Highway is part of the West Coast Green Highway, a three-state initiative to promote the use of cleaner fuels along the 1,350 miles of I-5 from British Columbia to Baja, Californian in Mexico.

The charging station provides a 30-minute recharge for all-electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiev. It  will also include a Level 2 “medium-speed” charging pedestal for other plug-in vehicles, such as the Ford Focus and Chevy Volt.