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Letter: Wasteful CRC still merits rejection

The Columbian
Published: September 24, 2013, 5:00pm

The Columbia River Crossing is still rearing its ugly head and it seems they will stop at nothing for this project, including:

  1. The Rose Quarter traffic blockage remains unfixed, and Oregon used commuter discomfort to manipulate CRC project approval.

  2. $86 million taxpayer dollars promised to three companies because the bridge is too short. Insufficient bridge height will impact river commerce, jobs, and homeland security for the next 100 years.

  3. More than $85 million in pork is attached to the project.

  4. Replacing a six-lane bridge with another six-lane bridge, without significant traffic-flow improvement, is an obvious attempt to force people onto light rail.

  • Exaggerated existing bridge safety. USA Today reported 10 states with worse bridge issues than Washington and Oregon.

  • $3.8 billion? $2.4 billion? Try more than $10 billion in reality, including interest and other factors, while ignoring alternative proposals that would have produced better traffic flow (including light rail), at less than half the cost.

  • Clark County commuters will pay thousands in tolls per year.

  • Politicians love bragging about bringing big dollars home but seem far less concerned with how those dollars are wasted. With the infrastructure needs in America, the CRC is a shamefully wasteful proposal and still deserves rejection.

    Phil Way

    Hazel Dell

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