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Coast Guard approves CRC bridge permit
The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday granted a crucial permit allowing the Columbia River Crossing to build a new Interstate 5 bridge between Vancouver and Portland.
The agency’s blessing had been one of the major hurdles still standing in front of the project, declared dead three months ago. Instead, the $2.7 billion effort appears to be gaining momentum with Oregon now in the lead. Washington largely pulled out of the CRC financially earlier this year after lawmakers in Olympia adjourned without authorizing any money for the project.
The Coast Guard’s blessing clears the way for a new Columbia River span with 116 feet of clearance over low water. CRC planners scrambled to reach that number last year after initially designing a fixed span at just 95 feet high — a level dismissed as too low for the economic and navigational needs of the river. The existing I-5 Bridge offers up to 178 feet of head room when lifted.