“Let’s build that bridge” is the cry of politicians and our governor in the aftermath of the Skagit River bridge collapse. “It’s for safety” they claim. Why not spend $600 million (Columbia River Crossing’s own numbers) to take down the existing bridges ($72 million), and build a new, replacement bridge ($528 million)? The $1 billion plus price tag for light rail adds nothing for “safety.” They can use the rest of the money to repair the Skagit bridge, and begin work on the more than 7,000 other bridges in the state. That seems reasonable to me.
But wasting $3.5 billion on a “bridge too low” with light rail, with a possible $2,000 per family per year in tolls does not seem reasonable. Why should Southwest Washington hog all the state’s transportation resources when there are thousands of bridges needing repair around the state?
John Ley
Camas
