Letter: Bridge solution still needed

Lifts on the Interstate 5 Bridge result in traffic backed up both ways, causing long, unnecessary delays. People are late for appointments, freight trucks waste fuel and wages, causing the cost of transportation in the region to be unnecessarily expensive. Thousands of tired, exasperated workers are trying to get home at a reasonable hour.

The Jantzen Beach entrance has for years been a major culprit in the northbound backup. Plans for a new bridge addressed this issue.

Address safety. On average, one collision per day occurs on the I-5 Bridge. Narrow lanes and a feeling of claustrophobia contribute to this.

Growing population can be helped by light rail. People in this county seem to have a disdain for progressive solutions; something I really can’t understand, but the reality is that light rail will have to play a role in the future. It will eventually be a huge task to move people, so let’s get with it.

Instead of sabotaging the whole Columbia River Crossing project and pushing the solution out maybe another decade, our representatives, especially Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, need to work with Congress to come up with more funding since it affects an interstate highway. Much lower tolls could then be charged, making it affordable to the users of the bridge.

Lynn Brown

Vancouver