More Westside bypass talk!
http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/inde...ves_secon.html
Few issues in Washington County can get people riled up as quickly as the mention of a westside freeway to move traffic around Portland's city center.
Motorists and business people complain of congestion and limited truck routes on the existing network of state and federal highways. Farmers and environmentalists rail at the thought of paving over agricultural land. But thanks to Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey, the idea may soon get a second look.
Back in 1989, the Oregon Department of Transportation led a Western Bypass Study (Metro Resolution 97-2497 - Western Bypass.pdf) that addressed north-south "circumferential transportation needs" in Washington County, including the need for a connector from Interstate 5, near Tualatin, to Oregon 99W. The bypass idea didn't gain traction, however, and a regional transportation plan adopted by Metro instead laid out an ambitious set of road improvement projects on U.S. 26, Oregon 217 and various surface streets.
Many of those projects have been completed or are still ongoing. Two examples: the improvement of Cornelius Pass Road between Tualatin Valley Highway and Cornell Road and, likewise, the widening of Oregon 217 to six lanes from the Sunset Highway to Canyon Road, with plans for more of the same all the way to I-5.
Now Mayor Willey wants state and local officials to reconsider a Westside Transportation Corridor (Westside-White-Paper-Final.pdf) that could potentially run from I-5 near Wilsonville to U.S. 30 near the Columbia River. The mayor recently commissioned a white paper on the project explaining why a new freeway is needed -- in short, to reduce congestion, create jobs, and to improve economic development in the region -- and has begun circulating it among state, local and regional officials.
As a next step, the city plans to submit a bill during the 2013 legislative session directing ODOT to undertake a "rigorous evaluation" of the merits of a westside corridor or beltway and present the findings to the 2015 Legislature.
The Argus commends the mayor for his leadership in reviving discussion of an issue critical to anyone who lives, works or commutes to or from Washington County. It's a valid question to ask if conditions have changed significantly enough to warrant a fresh look at future capabilities of the regional transportation network and how they might facilitate or impede economic growth.
At the same time, we believe strongly that supporters of a westside corridor or bypass face a steep climb in making their case for such a project. If the original proposal for a limited-access freeway was shot down by concerns over cost and the loss of farmland, imagine the price tag and environmental concerns now.
Plus, consider the strain on federal and state budgets and the backlog of projects that still await funding. Locally, Hillsboro is seeking $31 million to widen U.S. 26 between the 185th Avenue and Cornelius Pass Road exits; hoping to redirect $10 million in savings from the Brookwood/Helvetia and Glencoe Road interchange projects toward other improvements on U.S. 26; and trying to secure $9 million to widen Brookwood Parkway and improve Northwest 253rd Avenue.
Then there's the Columbia River Crossing project that has Oregon and Washington seeking billions of dollars from the feds to build a new I-5 bridge over the Columbia.
We're of the mind that it's generally better to focus on the here and now -- projects already identified as regional priorities in an era of limited dollars -- than get caught up in what-ifs and raise false hopes. But if Willey's calling the question costs relatively little, we think there could be a lot of good to come from that. A new study of a westside corridor could force the region to consider the tradeoffs -- or forever put the idea to rest.
Print publication: Friday, Nov. 30, 2012
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