At more than $130 million spent so far and not one shovel of dirt turned, the Columbia River Crossing isn’t finished spending on its incomplete design. This is an insane amount of money spent by a group of people who do not have any check and balances on their spending authority. I view this as almost a criminal act when over 14 percent of the local population is unemployed, with that number only to go higher.
A federal-level investigation of the CRC’s spending is desperately needed. CRC has spent an insane amount of money without any results to show, at a time when even the funding of this project is in doubt. Accountability of all monies spent is the only way to address the open-wallet shopping by the CRC. Taxpayers need to be informed who got what amounts and why.
Another bridge could have easily been built in another location with the monies already spent without the need of tolls and higher property taxes. This project spending has to be investigated and taxpayers assured our hard-earned dollars have not been wasted. If allowed to continue, it should only be after this region’s taxpayers have a vote, not just on light rail, but the entire CRC project.
Allen J. Anderson
Camas
