A couple of years ago, if Gov. Jay Inslee was visiting Vancouver and standing on the Evergreen Boulevard overpass, he most likely would have been looking south toward the Interstate 5 Bridge.
On Friday, he looked north, toward the interchange at Interstate 5 and Mill Plain Boulevard.
Replacing that interchange has become a priority for the region, with officials hoping that a transportation package passes this legislative session and includes $82.8 million for the Clark County project.
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt spoke with the governor on the overpass, highlighting the interchange project as a key priority for the region.
It’s key to the area’s push for urbanization and sustainability, Leavitt said.
“We’re fortunate to have a governor interested in Southwest Washington,” the mayor said.
The Senate passed a $15 billion transportation package earlier this month that was widely panned by Southwest Washington lawmakers. It carved out about $160 million for a handful of highway projects in Clark County, plus $6 million in transit and rail upgrades.
The package also includes an incremental gas tax increase of 11.7 cents over the next three years. Both Sens. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, and Don Benton, R-Vancouver, voted against the package. The House has not yet unveiled a transportation proposal.
On Friday, Port of Vancouver Chief Executive Officer Todd Coleman also stood on the overpass with the governor and mayor.
Coleman said trucks carrying wind turbine components can’t use the interchange because they can’t make the tight turn. The port receives about 2,000 or 3,000 turbine components a year that come from Europe and Asia, are unloaded at the port and then taken to Eastern Washington. Currently, drivers have to navigate downtown Vancouver before getting on the highway. But the next generation of turbine parts will be larger and won’t fit downtown, Coleman said. Without a new interchange, the port could lose business and jobs, he said.
“There are a lot of man hours involved” in hauling the turbines, he said.
While in town, Inslee also spoke to a room full of officials from economic organizations at the Fort Vancouver Historic Reserve.
And of course, talk of a transportation package in Southwest Washington veered toward the now-defunct controversial Columbia River Crossing project.
Inslee, a proponent of the project to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge, does not hide his frustration that the project failed.
Although it’s still a top priority, he said on Friday, “the local community has not yet coalesced.”
