Columbia River Crossing officials appear to be emphasizing a new component — harsh financial reality — in planning a replacement for the Interstate 5 Bridge. A CRC staffer told Oregon legislators last week that a scaled-down, phased-in version of the $3.1 billion project reflects “the reality of the times,” and a revised price tag of $2.45 billion is being considered.That’s encouraging. As we’ve editorialized before, if phasing in this project greases the funding wheels and expedites construction, then go for it, even it means higher construction costs later for the postponed components. But what’s not encouraging is evidence from Vancouver forensic accountant Tiffany Couch that the CRC is plagued by widespread contract markups and cost overruns.
As for the reduced “CRC Lite” version, don’t get too excited about that “savings” of $650 million. It’s kind of like your spouse bragging about getting a half-off deal on a new Rolls Royce.
According to The Oregonian, Patricia McCaig of the CRC told Oregon lawmakers last week: “We hope you’ll go forward with the $450 million (from Oregon) and the full build. But the reality is, we’ve clearly been directed by (Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber), the public and conversations with you to go for a smaller project. That’s the reality of the times.”
But nothing is certain yet. Exactly which components of the project will be postponed has not been finalized, and how the two different states will respond is a big variable. The respective legislatures could decide differently on how much to contribute.