Posted by The office of Mayor Sam Adams released a statement today regarding the progress of a new I-5 Columbia River Crossing:
“For citizens interested in the proposed I-5 Columbia River Crossing project linking Portland and Vancouver, I want to provide an update on the ongoing conversation about the bridge.
Several weeks ago, along with my colleagues Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart, and Metro President David Bragdon, I signed a letter to the Governors of Washington and Oregon asking for greater local involvement in decisions about the size, cost and design of the new bridge.
In that letter, the four of us asked Washington Governor Christine Gregoire and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to authorize an inclusive “second opinion” regarding key assumptions about the proposed CRC project as well as the bridge design that has come out of those assumptions.
We also expressed our continued support for the new crossing. As I have stated before, I believe a new bridge is essential to the economic well-being of the Portland-Vancouver region.
The response we received from the Governors is disappointing. It states an intention to move forward with the project as currently scheduled, with the additional step of convening an “expert review panel” to assess financial and implementation plans for the CRC.
While the four of us do believe the project will benefit from fresh eyes, a review panel was not necessarily what we were seeking when we sent a letter to our Governors. We are willing to work with such a panel. But, we have other procedural and substantive requests that demand more meaningful local engagement. Several items need additional work, specifically:
- Tightening up the analysis of freight needs in the bridge area and targeting freight-dedicated infrastructure to specifically address those needs;
- Better understanding (through limited additional modeling) of the potential for sprawl on both sides of the river;
- Engaging a third-party consultant with urban freeway expertise to ensure we’re applying state-of-the-art problem-solving to the uniquely urban set of challenges posed by this project; and
- Developing a transparent cost/benefit analysis that addresses concerns repeatedly raised by our respective jurisdictions.
We are asking for due diligence, not a do-over. We understand that time is of the essence. But we’re not asking for unlimited time.
The work we are requesting can be completed within a few months if we move forward together. And we do have some time. In the words of Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR as quoted in a February 12 Oregonian editorial, “There’s no sense of urgency about the Columbia River Crossing because there’s no pot of money available.”
We, the local elected officials signing off on this project, need confidence and trust that the best, most up-to-date analysis is being performed on what will be the most expensive public-works project ever built in the Pacific Northwest. Taking the time to get it right is just common sense.”
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