Letter: Raise the view on bridge height

To those who think about building the Columbia River Crossing with a height lower than the Interstate 205 bridge, consider:

In hindsight, a catastrophic mistake was made in not providing fish ladders at Grand Coulee Dam. The result was that salmon spawning upstream from Grand Coulee were extinguished, along with their spawning grounds.

In hindsight, a disastrous mistake was made in not providing a navigation lock at Grand Coulee Dam. The result was that there is no inexpensive water transportation for industrial and agricultural products upstream from Grand Coulee Dam.

The same type of colossal mistake will repeat itself with a CRC bridge height lower than the I-205 bridge. A lower bridge height will forever close the Columbia River at Vancouver to producers’ and shippers’ products of a height greater than the I-205 bridge.

The money spent so far on the CRC is a sunken cost. It cannot be recovered.

It is better to correct the height error when still possible than for future generations to have to suffer a disastrous idiocy.

Once the height of the CRC is set, all future generations and we will be condemned to it in perpetuity.

For all our future generations, we need to make wisest possible decision regarding CRC.

Gene E.A. Johnson

Vancouver