Columbia River Crossing I-5 Bridge

The Columbia River Crossing

The Big Divide

The Big Divide, Day 2: How Clark County really feels about CRC

Gov. Jay Inslee's recent visit to Vancouver sent a clear message that Clark County's views about the Columbia River Crossing are an important part of the regional debate over the $3.4 billion plan to replace the Interstate 5 bridge with a new highway and light rail structure. As the shouting is rising on both sides of the debate, the governor told local supporers to get louder.

The Big Divide, Day 2: The Poll results

Clark County residents are deeply divided on the Columbia River Crossing, with neither supporters nor opponents claiming a clear majority of public opinion, according to a scientific poll commissioned by The Columbian this month.

The Big Divide: Competing political wills block the way

Clark County's political and business leaders who've steered the county's growth strategy for decades are under fire by critics girding to capsize their priorities. Most business and civic groups, as well as local governments, see a new Interstate 5 bridge as a main ingredient of Clark County's future prosperity. But their critics aim to sink the proposed CRC, in part because the $3.4 billion Interstate 5 Bridge replacement project will bring light rail into Clark County. If they're successful, CRC opponents will tear into the very fabric of the leadership elite's sense of what the county needs to thrive.

News

U.S. House plan offers no money for CRC

Senate drafting its own version of transportation budget

U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, issued a statement Tuesday reiterating that the Columbia River Crossing project must meet all of its funding and permitting requirements before it is eligible for federal dollars.

Murray targets opponents of CRC (video)

After Skagit collapse, Senator believes I-5 Bridge is unsafe

Pointing out the recent collapse of the Interstate 5 Skagit River bridge, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said Friday that opponents of the Columbia River Crossing project need to stop and think about what could happen if officials fail to replace the I-5 Bridge over the Columbia River.

Pro-CRC group spends $30,000 on ads

Its focus is to convince lawmakers project is needed now

Columbia River Crossing supporters have increased efforts in recent months to convince legislators in Olympia, and residents in Clark County, that a plan to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge needs funding now.

Court date set for light-rail lawsuit arguments

Opponents sued Vancouver for not placing initiative on ballot

Residents want judge to order anti-light rail initiative on ballot

UPDATE: Herrera Beutler voices 'grave' CRC concerns to Coast Guard

Issues include planned height of I-5 Bridge replacement

U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler today reiterated her concerns about the Columbia River Crossing as the U.S. Coast Guard mulls a crucial bridge permit for the $3.4 billion project.

Light rail: Blight or bliss?

Neighborhoods near tracks have felt positive, negative effects

PORTLAND — Love it or hate it, light rail's tracks are firmly embedded in plans for the Columbia River Crossing. But what will that mean for Vancouver?

Maintenance lifts planned for I-5 Bridge

Maintenance work on both spans of the Interstate 5 Bridge will cause intermittent delays and multiple bridge lifts during three nights this month, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Local firms donated to anti-CRC effort

The I-5 Project Inc. hired group of lobbyists to fight bridge project

Three Southwest Washington companies are the top donors behind a lobbying effort to influence legislators' views on the Columbia River Crossing project.

Speakers focus on CRC's impact on Thompson Metal Fab (with videos)

The company, east of Interstate 5 Bridge, is 'our Boeing,' legislator says

As the U.S. Coast Guard hosted a second night of testimony on the Columbia River Crossing on Wednesday, many Clark County residents turned their attention to a business with perhaps more at stake than any other in the project's outcome.

Coast Guard hears CRC objections from project's critics

The federal agency that essentially holds veto power over the Columbia River Crossing opened its ear to Portland and Vancouver residents Tuesday, and most who spoke called for a rejection of the controversial megaproject.

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History

1917

On Feb. 14, a headline in the Vancouver Daily Columbian heralds the opening of a new bridge across the Columbia River at Vancouver: “With iron bands we clasp hands,” replacing ferry service in place since 1870. Plans for the bridge took root in 1905, when the world’s fair in Portland caused massive traffic jams of people waiting for the steam ferry. The bridge, which cost $941,000, opened with a toll of 5 cents. The tolls generated money for repaying construction bonds, but about half the revenue was used to improve public roads elsewhere. The toll ended in 1928. The original span carries northbound traffic on what is today Interstate 5.
1958

The second span, a twin to the first drawbridge, opens on July 1 at a cost of $14.5 million. Original span taken out of service until January of 1960 while workers replace one portion of the span and raise it by 30 feet to match the “hump” in the new bridge, which allows more boats to pass without having to block auto traffic for bridge lifts. Both bridges reopen in 1960 with a toll of 20 cents for cars and 60 cents for trucks. Toll ends on Nov. 1, 1966.
1982

The federal government underwrites the bulk of the $175 million cost of the toll-free Glenn Jackson Bridge, which opens after five years of construction on Dec. 15, 1982. Washington’s portion of I-205, just under 10 miles, opened in 1976. The bridge opening corresponds to Oregon finishing its 36-mile stretch of the beltway looping around the east side of the Portland metro area.
1999

Growing traffic congestion prompts Washington and Oregon transportation agencies to examine I-5 trade corridor from the freeway’s interchange with Interstate 84 in Portland to I-205 in Salmon Creek. Study concludes that highway, transit, freight and passenger rail improvements will be needed to maintain the region’s economic competitiveness. The most economically significant portion of the corridor straddles the Columbia River, where the bulk of the metro area’s industrial land base and shipping centers are clustered. In 2002, a bistate task force prioritizes fixing three bottlenecks in the corridor: Expanding I-5 to three lanes through Salmon Creek (finished in 2006); fixing Delta Park bottleneck in Portland (finished in 2010); and improving I-5 at the river.
2008

A new 39-member bistate task force narrows potential improvements to variations of a supplemental or replacement bridge with light rail or a bus rapid transit system. In late June and July, six project sponsors conditionally endorse a “locally preferred alternative” consisting of a replacement bridge with an extension of Portland’s light rail transit system. Local sponsors include the Vancouver and Portland city councils, the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council, the Metro regional government in the Portland area, C-Tran and TriMet.
2010

Criticism mounts over details of design, funding and scope of $3.6 billion project. Govs. Chris Gregoire and Ted Kulongoski respond by appointing an independent review team, followed by a Bridge Expert Review Panel to address specific concerns about the 10-lane river crossing’s cost, durability and “underwhelming” appearance from Vancouver’s revitalizing downtown.

The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington