Bridge plan includes talk of tolls
Thursday, November 15, 2007 5:09 AM PST
By Stephanie Mathieu
Printable version
E-mail this article
Sometime in the next decade, motorists crossing the Columbia River between Portland and Vancouver may drive over a new 12-lane bridge -- and pay a toll to fund the multibillion dollar span.
That's one option under study by the Columbia Bridge Crossing Project, a two-state effort studying ways to ease congestion where Interstate 5 crosses the mighty Columbia.
Unless improvements are made, the freeway could be gridlocked for up 14 hours a day by 2030, when the number of daily commuters is expected to climb from 135,000 to 200,000, said project director Doug Ficco, who briefed the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce on the effort Wednesday.
The Oregon and Washington departments of transportation began the project about three years ago initially to improve the flow of freight to the ports of Portland and Vancouver.
"Crossing at Portland is one heck of a bottleneck" and that affects trade, Chamber President Rick Winsman said Wednesday. "I-5 plays a very integral part in that. ... It handles a lot of goods."
Here are some of the crossing options under study:
- Replacing the two steel truss spans with a single 12-lane bridge that would be high enough to eliminate need for a drawspan. It would be built slightly downstream of the existing spans. The cost ranges from $2.67 billion to $3.09 billion.
- Adding an additional four-lane span to supplement the two existing spans, as well as improving nearby interchanges, at a cost of $2.51 billion to $2.88 billion. The two existing spans, built in 1917 (northbound) and 1958 (southbound), would be reinforced.
- Either of these two options could include tracks linking Clark County to Portland's light rail system or funding for improved bus service across the river. The additional costs are $530 million to $1.17 billion for light rail and $460 million to $990 million for expanded bus service.
Tolls most likely would be necessary under any of these options, and their size would depend on how much the federal government contributes to the project.
"The transportation funding just isn't there like it used to be," Ficco said. He added that he hopes U.S. senators from the two states push for funding in Congress.
One part of the crossing project is slated to start next year, when I-5's two-lane bottleneck through the Delta Park area of north Portland will be widened.
About 75 percent of motorists crossing the Columbia on I-5 enter or exit the freeway between State Route 500 in Vancouver and Columbia Boulevard in Portland.
The Columbia River Crossing task force will take public comment on the proposals starting in February, after federal review of an environmental impact study on the project. Construction is projected to start sometime between 2010 and 2017.
So far, the biggest concerns are how construction would affect wildlife or disrupt historical districts along the freeway. There is also concern about an ancient Indian burial ground in the Vancouver area, which is one reason 43 American Indian tribes are watching the process.
"That's a huge challenge for us," Ficco said.
The toll system would resemble the one at the new Tacoma Narrows bridge that opened this year. Commuters were given an electronic chip for their vehicles that records the number of times they pass over the bridge, and they get billed accordingly.
Tolls are still relatively scarce in the Northwest, though drivers were charged for crossing the Lewis and Clark Bridge between 1930 and 1965.
"It's an expensive project; it's a long-term project," Winsman said of the Columbia River Crossing. "We have to figure out where we're going to get the funding."
Learn more
To learn more about the Columbia Bridge Crossing project, view the Web site at www.columbiarivercrossing.org or call project director Doug Ficco at (360) 816-2200.
The Columbia Bridge Crossing task force is expected to open the project for a 60-day public comment period beginning in February.
The public is welcome to attend a briefing from 4 p.m. top 8 p.m. Nov. 27 at the Washington Department of Transportation office at 11018 N.E. 51st Circle in Vancouver.
Past Month's Most Commented Stories