At the present time, the Interstate 5 Bridge over the Columbia River is a multidecades-old drawbridge with three lanes in each direction. The next bridge spanning the Columbia to the west is in Longview, 50 miles away. It has one lane in each direction. My suggestion is that we build a new drawbridge with four lanes in each direction, at the site of the current bridge, with similar on- and offramp locations. Even with widened on- and offramps, and a fourth lane for a mile or so both north and south of the bridge, such a bridge would cost a fraction of what I expect us to end up spending on a bridge with lots of special use lanes. (A fourth “regular” lane will support bus traffic.) Tolls might not be such a big issue with a more modest, and practical, span. The distant future? A crossing near Woodland …
