A tenuous consensus held together today over the much-maligned Columbia River Crossing, despite lingering reservations expressed by political leaders on both sides of the river.
The bi-state crossing’s project sponsors council met for the first time since four of its members sent a letter Tuesday declaring their general support for a new Interstate 5 Bridge — but that the project is “unacceptable” as currently designed.
The letter was sent by Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart and Portland-area Metro Council President David Bragdon. The letter is significant in light of fraying support for a $4 billion project.
Matthew Garrett, Oregon’s transportation director, said he was actually encouraged.
“I take it in the spirit of partnership,” he said after today’s meeting. “Let’s bring fresh eyes to either validate or course-correct.”
Leavitt, who was elected mayor last fall after campaigning against tolls on the new bridge, said afterward that he hopes to inject the possibility of other local sources of revenue for the project besides tolling. As examples, he cited a sales tax increase or bumping the gas tax in the four counties around Portland and Vancouver.
He reiterated his general support for a new bridge of some sort.
The “no-build” alternative modeled by engineers shows traffic congestion expanding from four to six hours a day now, to 15 hours of congestion by the year 2030.
“I’m not sure that’s acceptable to anybody,” Leavitt said after the meeting at the Washington Department of transportation’s regional office in Vancouver.
The project would replace two existing three-lane drawbridges over the Columbia; improve five miles of freeway between state Highway 500 and Portland’s Columbia Boulevard; and extend light rail through downtown Vancouver.
The four elected officials expressed support for the bridge, with the following caveats:
• Performance targets should be used to guide the design of the bridge and manage traffic after construction.
• A financing plan that protects “local taxpayers and road users.” The group specified that the “project’s costs are fair, provide high benefit-to-cost, and do not cannibalize funding for other priority projects in the coming decades.”
• Protect the businesses and neighborhood livability of Hayden Island, which could be harmed by recent cost-saving refinements proposed by engineers.
• Independent evaluations, funded by the states, to evaluate everything from growth assumptions about traffic and population, to the effect of the project on the rest of the Portland-Vancouver road system, to the effect of a bigger bridge fueling sprawl.
Henry Hewitt, the sponsor council’s chairman, said a work plan will be formulated over the next couple of weeks to address each of the issues.
