In his May 20 column, “Yes, CRC costs are high, but don’t ignore the benefits,” John Laird did some excellent hand-waving in his attempt to cost justify the Columbia River Crossing. Fact is, it won’t solve the congestion problem; it will simply encourage Vancouver sprawl and immediately back up congestion to the Interstate 5-Interstate 84 interchange. Better to extend the life of the I-5 Bridge, implement tolls and let Vancouver taxpayers build a cheaper dedicated MAX line from the Expo Center to Vancouver. Washington and Oregon could better use the rest of the money to reduce post-secondary school tuition costs and rebuild the dilapidated K-12 schools that are known earthquake threats to tens of thousands of children.
Dennis Phillips
Portland
