We need more ideas on how to bridge the Columbia. Ideas require creativity. Evaluating ideas is easy once they are on paper.
My idea for a new bridge is to start with the road to nowhere on the west side of Vancouver Lake and extend it to the north along the west side of the railroad. Cross the railroad north of Ridgefield and head northeast to Interstate 5. Not one house would have to be removed with this type of bridge approach. Truck traffic from the north, headed for the Port of Vancouver, would now avoid passing through Salmon Creek, Hazel Dell and west Vancouver. What a blessing.
Pick a river crossing west of the railroad bridge. I would like a crossing to Sauvie Island, heading to Highway 217 and Beaverton, Ore. You could join I-5 without ever crossing the Willamette River.
Now, you may have noticed that my plan calls for building a road along the east edge of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. This route would increase the number of voters who would see this national treasure. Now is the time to act because we recently elected a man who likes a good deal and could support an improved national highway on the edge of a national wildlife refuge.
