In the beginning, there was this bridge over the mighty Columbia between Vancouver and Portland. The year was 1917 when this shiny new drawbridge first made its debut. At the time, it allowed brand new cars and motorless coaches to cross the river. At the side of the bridge, an old steam ferry still operated its daily run. That was back to the early days of Columbia River crossing. Much has changed since. Now we are closing in on a hundred years of the Interstate 5 Bridge, painfully inadequate and very obsolete.
The bridge now has become a political pawn between two states and federal politicians, who argue for and against the need to replace it. The people who drive to work every day between the two shores are caught between a political tug-of-war and the reality of a bridge that could collapse under them at any time. One only has to look back at the recent collapse of the Skagit River bridge to see that the same event could happen here.
My fellow citizens, it is time we all wake up to the reality of the I-5 Bridge. No more playing politics. No more stalling. No more waiting. Men, machines, steel and concrete are ready to go. Together we can build a span to cross the mighty Columbia again. The future is in our hands.
Rolf Knapp
Vancouver
