Reading the May 25 story “Opponents of CRC not jolted by collapse” regarding the Skagit River bridge, I am astounded by the comments of Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center. She stated, “It was the result of a structural assault by a truck. We don’t have that situation down here.” This clearly demonstrates the “denial of reality” approach that she and her Republican colleagues have regarding the I-5 bridge replacement.
Compared to the Skagit span, the northbound I-5 span is 38 years older, and the southbound span has only 2 more inches of clearance. Anyone with a shred of judgment (which clearly excludes Rivers and her cronies) can see the exposure to this same kind of incident is at least as great, if not greater. And the impact to local traffic and commerce would be far greater.
The time to whine or complain about the bridge design has long passed. The opponents had their chance, but didn’t bother at the time. A redesign now will set back the replacement by years or decades.
Republican legislators: stop the obstructionist behavior now. Do your job. Serve and protect the people you were elected to represent — all of them — not just a narrow vocal minority.
