The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program released its second batch of visualizations for the replacement bridge at Tuesday’s executive steering group meeting.
The new renderings show viewpoints close to or on the new bridge from Hayden Island and the Vancouver waterfront. The renderings show six replacement bridge options: four single-level bridges, one stacked bridge and one with a lift span.
The project team expects to select a final design later this year before the release of the final supplemental environmental impact statement, said Greg Johnson, program administrator.
“This will be a bigger bridge, and it will have impacts on Hayden Island, but we think it will also have very positive impacts in reconnecting the island,” Johnson said.
The six replacement bridge options include: one with concrete girders; one with steel girders; two with decks held by cables; a two-level stacked version similar to the final Columbia River Crossing design with the freeway on the top level and transit and bike-pedestrian paths below; and a movable span bridge like the current I-5 Bridge.
The visuals are not a final design and don’t reflect property impacts.
Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle asked why the renderings are unattractive.
“Are you showing us the really ugly stuff so we don’t get our hopes up?” McEnerny-Ogle asked.
Program officials are waiting to fully design aesthetics until a single bridge configuration is selected, Johnson said.
The program is limited in the type of bridge because designers don’t want to intrude into Pearson Field and Portland International Airport’s airspace, Johnson said in 2023.
