Wide bridge would have watchdog

Columbia River Crossing A new mobility council would have a say on how the new bridge would operate.

Last summer, a half-dozen governments agreed the aging Interstate 5 Bridge should be replaced with a new crossing that would extend light rail to Vancouver.

Representatives from those governments went a step further Friday by agreeing the new bridge should have 12 lanes, six in each direction, with one important caveat:

A new mobility council would provide high-level recommendations on tolling, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, freeway ramps and other management techniques to ensure that those paying for the project, through taxes and bridge tolls, get the most benefit for their money.

"This project will be operated based on goals, including emissions, including safety, including trip times," Portland Mayor Sam Adams said following Friday's meeting in Vancouver. "We have never done this before. … I'm not aware of anywhere in the United States that has done this."

Users of the project would purchase "transportation performance," Adams said, and should know how much they will pay and what they will get in return — namely, increased safety and faster travel through one of the West Coast's chronic chokepoints.

"When we invest this kind of money, they should get something for it," he said.

Adams made his comments only minutes after the 10-member Columbia River Crossing project sponsors council unanimously backed a 12-lane bridge, a milestone in getting a project that could cost as much as $4 billion from paper to construction.

The lane debate has been one of the most contentious issues in recent months and threatened to fracture the bistate partnership. Oregon officials worried that a big bridge would encourage sprawl. Washington officials worried that a small bridge would provide inadequate congestion relief.

Oregon officials budged on the lane issue in return for a mobility council that would actively manage the project.

"The days are over where we just build something and it sits there for 50 to 100 years," said David Bragdon, president of Metro, the Portland-area regional government. "I have been a skeptic of 12 lanes. I still am. That's the last time you will hear it today."

The mobility council would not have final authority over tolls. The Washington Legislature has kept tight control of the issue and must authorize tolling on a specific route.

Presuming the Legislature authorizes tolling, the Washington Transportation Commission would set the tolls; that rate would also be subject to approval by the Oregon Transportation Commission.

Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, who embraced bridge tolls more than a decade ago, said a new crossing would not be built without some type of toll. But he offered a warning during Friday's meeting.

"Any attempt to pay for this bridge on the backs of our commuters, in Vancouver and Clark County, is not acceptable," Pollard said. "It cannot be seen as a push or punishment to force people out of their cars and onto light rail."

Jeffrey Mize: 360-735-4542 or jeff.mize@columbian.com.