The thing I find interesting when reading the articles lately about the regional transportation board and the proposed gas-tax hike is that there is no mention of Fourth Plain Boulevard. I realize that the city of Vancouver now has jurisdiction over Fourth Plain, since state Highway 501 was moved to interchange with Mill Plain Boulevard when the last improvements were made.
What I don’t like is that part of the promise that came with the last Mill Plain improvements was eliminating, or at least reducing, truck traffic on Fourth Plain. If you drive Fourth Plain from Interstate 5 to the Port of Vancouver, you will quickly see that none of this ever happened. The $6 million that is requested for improvement to SR 501 should be tied to a requirement that both weight and axle limits be imposed on Fourth Plain.
On a separate note, the Feb. 13 article “Package includes $166 million for Clark County” on the state transportation package did not mention two other projects that notably need to be addressed. They are state Highway 500 and Northeast Stapleton Road, and state Highway 500 and Northeast Fourth Plain.
Dan Presler
Vancouver
