Govs. Gregoire, Kulongoski appoint panel to review crossing project

o Thomas R. Warne, chairman, South Jordan, Utah: A civil engineer whose expertise includes project financing and delivery and context-sensitive design.

o Rodney L. Brown Jr., Seattle: An environmental attorney, Brown serves on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s Climate Action Team and represents clients on issues related to environmental impact statements, pollution control and waste management.

o E. Robert Ferguson, Palm Desert, Calif.: A civil engineer with more than 50 years of experience in major civil engineering projects, including highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, ports and railroads.

o Patricia D. Galloway, Cle Elum: A civil engineer who has worked on rail, transit, roadway and bridge projects, including the Sound Transit light rail project in Puget Sound, Australia’s Melbourne Citylink project and the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong.

o Diana Mendes, Washington, D.C.: A planner who developed the environmental management system to support the redevelopment of $4.5 billion of transportation projects needed to rebuild lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

o Michael D. Meyer, Atlanta: A civil engineer whose recent research and consulting includes incorporating greenhouse gas analysis into transportation decision-making, developing nontraditional performance measures, congestion pricing, revenue estimation and freight planning.

o Timothy Ray Neuman, Chicago: A civil engineer, Neuman authored a reference manual on context-sensitive design and solutions. He has consulted on complex urban highway corridors and interchanges across the country.

o Mary Lou Ralls, Austin, Texas: A civil engineer, Ralls currently serves as an instructor for the National Highway Institute and previously directed the Bridge Division of the Texas Department of Transportation.

— Erik Robinson

An eight-member review panel, dominated by engineers, will review the implementation and finance plan for the multibillion-dollar Columbia River Crossing project.

Govs. Chris Gregoire and Ted Kulongoski, in announcing the panel on Tuesday, accepted only one of the panelists suggested by Vancouver and Portland elected leaders, who sought a much broader and more intensive review. Instead, the governors appear to be stepping on the gas on a project 15 years in the works.

“The CRC is an investment that is critical to the economy of the entire Pacific Northwest because of its importance as the major north-south transportation link of the western United States,” Oregon Gov. Kulongoski said in a prepared statement.

The governors agreed to convene an independent review panel in February, after local elected officials wrote that the project poses “unacceptable” impacts as currently designed and financed.

The review, which is expected to cost $750,000, will include at least four meetings of the full panel of eight. They will report their findings to the governors by the end of July. State and federal officials are pushing to finish a formal record of decision on the project by the end of the year, in time for the bridge to be included in an updated six-year federal transportation plan.

Planners also expect project funding from both state legislatures, as well as local revenue generated by bridge tolls.

Now estimated to cost between $2.6 billion and $3.6 billion, the crossing includes a 10-lane replacement for the twin three-lane drawbridges across the river, along with four miles of improvements to Interstate 5 and an extension of Portland’s light rail transit system into downtown Vancouver.

Tom Warne, a civil engineer who lives in South Jordan, Utah, will chair the review panel.

Formerly the executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation, Warne has 30 years of experience in light rail and highway construction projects. For the past nine years, he’s worked as a private consultant assisting with bridge and light rail projects across the country.

The governors have asked Warne’s panel to assess the implementation plan for the CRC; review the financial plan; and review and evaluate post-construction performance measures.

Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart and Metro council President David Bragdon — who all serve on a separate 10-member CRC advisory committee — had pressed for a broader review including much more fundamental questions about project design, function and financing. They had suggested their own nominees to a review panel, including Timothy Ray Neuman, who was the only one on their list selected.

Stuart raised concern about the new review panel’s relatively narrow marching orders.

“My focus still is on making this project more affordable,” he said. “I don’t see how this helps. Based on the scope of their analysis, I don’t know how they will make this project more affordable.”

A Kulongoski spokeswoman said the governors have consistently looked for ways to make the project more affordable, including a package of refinements late last year that cut $650 million in costs.

“The idea is to do a full comprehensive review and make improvements if necessary,” said Anna Richter Taylor, communications director for Kulongoski. “The goal here is to provide an independent review of where we are today on the project with independent consultants who have not been involved in the project to date.”