It’s pathetic when politicians — two politicians for Washington state governor, President Obama and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell — endorse this Columbia River Crossing bridge replacement proposal, all for political votes. They don’t live in this area and have no knowledge of the metropolitan area needs. Citizens within this metropolitan area need vehicle traffic relief. This should be accomplished by construction of one or two bridges, leaving the current I-5 bridge in place. Portland has 10 bridges over the Willamette River. Population and industrial growth dictates this need.
Inadequate light rail construction of tracks on land costs more than $12 million per mile; implemented in this CRC monstrosity, costs will exceed $100 million. I have ridden the subways in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge, Mass., the elevated rail system in Chicago, and monorails in Disney World, Disneyland, and Seattle. A monorail system should not cost $12 million per land mile and could be capable of 200 mph between Vancouver and Seattle in less than two hours.
The continued published concerns warrant abandoning the current CRC plan for more bridges at less cost and disturbance of property owners. New bridges could have a hump like I-5 has and/or a raised span at less cost. Also, they’d have no impact on I-5 traffic during construction.
— Frank Funk, Vancouver
