Tuesday, February 27, 2007
By DON HAMILTON Columbian Staff Writer
PORTLAND — Clark County moved a step closer to getting a new Interstate 5 bridge Tuesday night, but plans for a third bridge remain alive.
After a four-hour meeting attended by more than 100 people, the Columbia River Crossing group voted 33-0 to launch its draft environmental impact statement (EIS), which will look in detail at replacing the Interstate 5 Bridge with a new bridge that includes mass transit.
But the panel also agreed to draft an additional alternative for inclusion in the draft EIS. It will be considered at its March 27 meeting.
Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart, who will be on the committee drafting the new alternative, said he expects to see it include lower cost ways to move more people and consider keeping the existing I-5 Bridge.
The compromise means the draft EIS can get started even with the new alternative under study. Henry Hewitt, the task force co-chairman, said he expects the new alternative will be included in the draft EIS.
That new alternative probably will include a third Columbia River bridge proposal, task members indicated.
The decision to launch the draft EIS came after an hour of public testimony followed by three hours of discussion among the members of the task force.
Despite the unanimity of the vote, uncertainty remained about the cost, the availability of federal money and the effectiveness of a new bridge. Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard at first opposed anything that would delay the project.
“We could be very well sitting here in six months or a year from now saying we need to know the cost. We need to get this process moving. You want to look at something else? We don’t have a lot of time.”
But adding the new alternative will be important to gaining public support and ensuring that the range of alternatives considered isn’t limited, members of the task force said.
“If we can get to a locally preferred alternative that people can get their arms around,” Stuart said, “we have a chance at finishing this. If not, we’re finished.”
“If we go forward without anything other than a big-build option, there won’t be public support,” said Serena Cruz Walsh, representing Multnomah County commissioners.
Stuart said he added up the width of the proposed bridge, counting three through lanes in each direction, shoulders, on- and off-ramps, mass transit and auxiliary lanes.
“That’s 228 feet wide,” he said, “two thirds of a football field wide. How do we take 228 feet of width and not further divide the city of Vancouver?”
Pollard echoed his concerns. The city has the Vancouver National Historic Reserve on one side of I-5, he said, and an aggressive economic development plans on the other.
“We’re working very hard to minimize impacts,” said Jay Lyman, consulting team project manager.
Doug Ficco of the Washington Department of Transportation, one of the project’s two directors, discussed the staff recommendation. He said building a third bridge without removing the existing bridge would complicate navigation for Columbia River shipping.
The draft EIS, he said, would fill in specifics on many other issues, including freight improvements, bike and pedestrian facilities, environmental effects, bridge appearance, cost, air quality, noise reduction and public transit. Cost, as much as $6 billion in some estimates, remains a big question, Ficco said.
“We really don’t know the cost,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to define.”
During public testimony, 26 people spoke and demonstrated the very personal ways the transportation system affects their lives. They spoke of their commutes, their cars, their bikes and their health.
Kristine Perry, representing Community Choices 2010 of Clark County, urged the task force to include state-of-the-art bike and pedestrian systems to help address obesity problems.
“We are very concerned about the lack of equitable attention to pedestrian and bikeway systems,” she said. “It’s critical these vital systems not be overlooked.”
T. J. Harrison, a Lewis & Clark College student, urged programs that encourage more use of bikes and mass transit. She carried a sign saying “No more lanes – clean air.”
“Adding more lanes and more congestion is a health issue and an environmental justice issue,” she said. “The residents of North Portland have to breathe that exhaust.”
The new bridge had its supporters as well.
“I’m one of the silly people who wants to ship things by truck,” said John Leber, owner of Swanson Bark and Wood Products of Longview. “There are going to be long-term problems if we don’t fix this,” he said. “Companies like ours, which does business in 47 states, will need to move if we don’t.”
Corky Collier, executive director of the Columbia Corridor Association, said I-5 on both sides of the Columbia River remains the most congested stretch on the freeway and needs to be addressed.
“It’s embarrassing,” he said, “and an economic hindrance.”
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