According to a 2015 report from the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council, 294,000 vehicles cross the interstate bridges between Oregon and Washington every day. And anyone who regularly crosses the bridges knows that the current infrastructure is simply inadequate.
Transportation between Oregon and Washington has been a long-standing issue that seems to take one step forward and two steps back. Congestion on either side of the crossings is a safety hazard; emergency vehicles are severely impeded by the cars that occupy the freeway during rush hour.
Solutions stand on shaky ground. Oregonians feel that their tax dollars should not go toward a project mainly in service of Washington residents. Washington residents are opposed to their tax dollars funding Oregon’s infrastructure. Southwest Washington’s congressional candidate David McDevitt has written extensively on Vancouver’s transportation issues, suggesting a system similar to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority is self-funded and has its own line of credit, with the sole purpose of finding transportation solutions. New York and New Jersey have had immense success with this system; implementing it here would ensure that any solution directly benefits the people who pay for it.
