Clark County Commissioner David Madore thinks the answer is an east county bridge. How is that going to help alleviate traffic? An east county bridge is going to do nothing but back up any route that is westbound into Portland. You don’t see miles of backup on the Interstate 205 side of Vancouver. The backups are always along the Interstate 5 corridor and Interstate 84 going westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening.
Where is the relief for the I-5 traveler or commuter in his proposal? If commuters are not using I-205 now, what makes the commissioner think they will go farther east for a new bridge?
Getting people from east Vancouver to Portland doesn’t seem to be the problem. It’s getting commuters as well as interstate travelers from north Vancouver into Portland.
Madore feels the issue is that we do not have enough bridges. He uses the Willamette River as an example but the majority of the bridges that cross that river are within a few miles of each other and most lead to the same place. How many miles apart would the I-5 Bridge and the east county bridge be? What routes are available to get from east county to the west side of Portland? I would not go farther east for a less crowded bridge just to have to come back west to my destination. Where is the time-saver there?
