I support your editorial about keeping Interstate 5 Bridge tolls low (“I-5 Bridge tolls must be kept as low as possible,” In Our View, Feb. 28). In fact, I ask how we could eliminate tolls altogether by carefully scrutinizing the bridge’s costs and features.
I know a new bridge is necessary. But I ask whether the bridge needs all the bells and whistles. For example, why pay for a diversity coordinator?
We are fortunate that the Western office of the Peter Kiewit Company is in Vancouver and that many of its alumni live here. Can the alums independently audit the bridge plan to find and eliminate waste?
We also are fortunate that our U.S. senators and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez have secured $600 million of federal bridge funding and are pushing for even more.
Let’s challenge ourselves to design and build this bridge as efficiently as possible, minimizing or even eliminating tolls. Nobody wants them.
