I-5 Bridge Replacement - Formerly Columbia River Crossing | Proposed

[MarkDaMan]

New push for I-5 bridge over Columbia: Washington lawmakers seek bipartisan coalition with Oregon legislators
By The Associated Press
on March 29, 2014 at 10:15 AM, updated March 29, 2014 at 10:35 AM

http://www.oregonlive.com/clark-county/i...an_for_columbia_rive.html#incart_m-rpt-2

VANCOUVER — Two state lawmakers from southwestern Washington are pushing to create a bipartisan group of legislators from Washington and Oregon to determine a path forward on an Interstate 5 bridge replacement project.

The Columbian reports that state Rep. Liz Pike and Sen. Ann Rivers, both Republicans, are in the process of reaching out to Oregon lawmakers and their Democratic counterparts in Washington. By the end of the month, they hope to have about 30 lawmakers signed on to the Bistate Bridge Coalition.

After Washington lawmakers declined to vote to pay their share of the $2.9 billion Columbia River Crossing, Oregon's governor pushed ahead to consider an Oregon-only project. The "go-it-alone strategy" failed to garner enough votes in 2014 and the project was declared dead.

"The first and most important thing is to understand where the old project went wrong and have the candid discussion to determine: Is this really a needed project?" Rivers said. "We have a sense the answer will be yes."

...

[65MAX]

HA!!

NOW they want a bipartisan solution? Where were these idiots two months ago? Well, don't hold your breath Republican sprawl-mongers. No MAX, no bridge. Period.

[philopdx]

I have a funny feeling their proposal will be something like "If we just got rid of the MAX, bike lanes, any new pedestrian connections across I-5 and any foo-foo landscaping or art, we could chop a cool billion off this thing and add a lane of traffic in each direction to boot! Yee haw."

D.O.A.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 65MAX

HA!!

NOW they want a bipartisan solution? Where were these idiots two months ago? Well, don't hold your breath Republican sprawl-mongers. No MAX, no bridge. Period.

Ann Rivers was labeled a CRC Killer by the Willamette Weekly, and I wouldn't be surprised if both her and Liz Pike are against light rail running across the bridge. I have to agree, No MAX, no bridge. If Vancouver wants to be a part of the Portland Metro, then Vancouver needs to act like it. Though I am all for charging a toll for Washington drivers who use the bridge, making Oregon drivers exempt with the way Washington has handled this bridge project.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by philopdx

I have a funny feeling their proposal will be something like "If we just got rid of the MAX, bike lanes, any new pedestrian connections across I-5 and any foo-foo landscaping or art, we could chop a cool billion off this thing and add a lane of traffic in each direction to boot! Yee haw."

D.O.A.

We should tell them it sounds great, but only if we can slap a hefty toll on it for Washington drivers only to pay....oh and we will add on on the 205 bridge too for good measure. And then use all that extra money for light rail projects in Oregon.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Ann Rivers was labeled a CRC Killer by the Willamette Weekly, and I wouldn't be surprised if both her and Liz Pike are against light rail running across the bridge.

They ARE against light rail. They said in the article that if only Portland and Oregon officials hadn't insisted on MAX, then everyone would have been HAPPY to spend billions on new freeway construction.

Typical Republican heads-up-their-a$$e$ B.S.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 65MAX

They ARE against light rail. They said in the article that if only Portland and Oregon officials hadn't insisted on MAX, then everyone would have been HAPPY to spend billions on new freeway construction.

Typical Republican heads-up-their-a$$e$ B.S.

That doesn't surprise me, Republicans will shoot themselves in the foot to prevent doing something good for people. I think Oregon should stick to the plan, no MAX, no bridge.

[2oh1]

I think the current bridge is fine. It needs to be reinforced, not replaced. Period.

I think MAX needs its own bridge, and I hope such a bridge is built.

I think other opportunities to alleviate traffic from that particular crossing need to be vigorously pursued.

I have yet to see anyone honestly address the issue of what would happen if a freaking mega-bridge were to be built. Yay, congestion alleviated, right? How incredibly ignorant and dangerously short-sighted.

If that congestion point gets alleviated, where does the extra traffic go? Think of it like a bath tub. You've got a tub full of water, and the small drain is your congestion point. Is a bigger drain going to empty the tub any faster? Of course not. The pipe can't handle more water. That's the most bare bones of basic common sense.

How much more traffic can the Rose Quarter handle? If they're not willing to address that, they'd better admit they don't know what they're doing. How much more traffic is downtown Vancouver ready to have dumped straight into it? Frankly, I don't care. That's Vancouver's problem. I also don't care if a new bridge over the Columbia is 🞵🞵🞵🞵 ugly. Not my problem. I'm a Portlander, and I do consider increasing the flow of traffic into my downtown to by my problem. I hate the CRC with a passion I cannot even begin to describe.

I don't want more traffic there. I don't want faster traffic there. And I certainly don't want to spend billions of dollars to make traffic in Portland worse.

In my opinion, the previous CRC proposal was a lazy solution that would only create bigger problems for future generations to solve. A big money, big bridge solution was the wrong approach from the start. A multi-bridge solution that included utilizing resources we've already got makes far more sense.

This is a solution I could support: http://youtu.be/sPB1jtmHVkk

[pdxtex]

the bridge isnt the bottle neck, its all those jantzen beach, expo center and race tracks exits rights after another. that coupled with vancouver shoppers and commuters returning home. forget it. you are sitting in traffic every single day by 3pm....

[MarkDaMan]

Apr 29, 2014, 7:31am PDT
The project that wouldn't die: Washington, Oregon lawmakers to discuss new I-5 Columbia crossing
Staff
Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/morn...kFaEqOvgXoyG8/wIKsmMtmSIXCT&t=1398787787

A new coalition could soon form to float another Columbia River Crossing-like effort.

The Columbian's Lauren Dake reports that Southwestern Washington lawmakers have sent a letter to Oregon counterparts inviting them to "form a new coalition to discuss an Interstate 5 Bridge replacement project."

The group would be called the Bi-State Bridge Coalition, suggesting that any new effort would sport a different name than the Columbia River Crossing drive. The CRC was deemed dead earlier this year after Oregon legislators couldn't enlist Washington backers to support an Oregon-led initiative.

The Columbian piece said Washington leaders will host a June 4 meeting that's closed to the public and the press “address transportation corridors between the states of Oregon and Washington and specific to the regions of Southwest Washington and the Portland metro area.”

[65MAX]

So this is the B.S. Bridge "Coalition"? Proposed by SW Washington Repubs? How do we politely tell them to f*** off?

At least they got the B.S. part right.

[scleeb]

Originally Posted by 65MAX

So this is the B.S. Bridge "Coalition"? Proposed by SW Washington Repubs? How do we politely tell them to f*** off?

The same way you tell Oregon Dems to f*** off...

[philopdx]

This is going to be another attempt to get more highways built with no HCT improvements included in the project. It's going to be DOA in the eyes of Oregon policymakers, no matter what you call it.

Wanna change the commute for Clark County commuters? They can buy themselves a ferry. Thanks.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by scleeb

The same way you tell Oregon Dems to f*** off...

Except the Dems aren't proposing billions in highway construction. Let me guess... you don't want the "crime" train going to Vancouver?

[cailes]

Crime train. LMAO

That picture is ingrained into my head for eternity.

[zilfondel]

Lol, captures the spirit of Vantucky like the true tax dodgers libertarians patriots they are!

[NJD]

Oregon and Washington have to pay back $187.5 million to feds, but hey, we got a 5 year extension to pay it back... remember when a retrofit was estimated at around $200-300 million... got to love the irony

“At this point, the project has been closed out, and we have no plans to restart it,” said Travis Brouwer, assistant director of the Oregon Department of Transportation. “Until Washington takes action, Oregon has no intention of restarting the project.”

Washington and Oregon could be on the hook for a substantial amount of money if they’re forced to repay. Federal officials earlier indicated that the two states had received a combined $187.5 million for the CRC as of April 2013. More than $100 million of that went to Oregon.

The CRC spent $200 million in planning by the time the project folded. The shutdown came after years of delays, setbacks and missteps, and sharp political acrimony.

...continue at The Columbian

[urbanlife]

Washington really screwed everyone with this bridge. We hit that point of no return and they decided not to follow through with everything. That bridge should be under construction now.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by cailes

Crime train. LMAO

That picture is ingrained into my head for eternity.

Oh man, I forgot about this one, it seriously makes me laugh every time.

[mcbaby]

I tried going to Jantzen Beach the other day and made the mistake of leaving the house at 2:30pm. Spent an hour moving 1 mile. The freeway was clogged with mostly Washington commuters. As soon as I could, I got off and turned around. Wasn't worth it.