A Los Angeles Times story “More troubled bridges, less repair money” appearing in The Columbian on Sept. 8 detailed the crumbling of bridges from Schwenksville, Pa., to Anaheim, Calif. It noted that deteriorating bridges across America would require $20.5 billion per year to repair, but that a multibillion-dollar transportation bill has “hit a roadblock of Republican opposition.”
We in Clark County were fortunate to obtain funding to repair our deficient Interstate 5 Bridge due to the persuasive influence of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. However, our own congressional representative, Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, continues to do her utmost to sabotage our unique opportunity. Her latest effort undermines the resurrection of the Columbia River Crossing through a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
I have read repeated Republican arguments that U.S. taxpayers should pay the entire cost of the CRC. Bridges all over America need repair. We are fortunate to receive the generous funding that we have. Yet all our local Republican elected officials, Herrera Beutler; Commissioner David Madore; Commissioner Tom Mielke; Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver; Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center; Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas; Rep. Brandon Vick, R-Vancouver; and Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, have stubbornly created their own Southwest Washington transportation roadblock, causing harm to Clark County and the entire I-5 corridor.
Elizabeth Stehle Campbell
Vancouver
