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The latest design for the Columbia River Crossing, the planned Interstate Bridge replacement, drew two new opponents last week: the governors of Oregon and Washington.

Govs. John Kitzhaber of Oregon and Chris Gregoire of Washington released Thursday evening calling for executives at both state transportation departments to discontinue further work on the open-web box girder bridge design presently proposed.

The statement came after a 16-member panel of bridge building experts, assembled last November to assess alternative designs, released its findings.

According to , the present design is costly and impractical, and there are three alternative bridge types that would reduce both cost and risk. These include a tied-arch bridge, a cable-stay bridge and a composite-deck truss structure.

The report found that an open-web box girder bridge would cost about $440 million. A composite-deck truss structure would be about $340 million, a cable-stay bridge would be about $400 million and a tied-arch bridge would be about $430 million.

The main reason for the cost savings is that the alternatives would be straighter than the curved open-web box girder design. All three also would be shorter, and thus require fewer materials and fewer piers in the water.

“Oregon and Washington remain committed to delivering this essential project at the least possible cost and as quickly as possible while also ensuring public safety and reliability,” the joint governors’ statement said. “To that end, we will focus only on the panel’s primary recommendations.”

The governors have asked officials at both transportation departments to consult with local partners and start immediately on the expedited review of the three bridge types. The officials have been asked to create a report determining which type is most affordable, maintains the project schedule, minimizes environmental impacts, provides the least risk and honors commitments that have been made to communities and stakeholders in both states.

Using that criteria, project officials will present their findings and a recommendation sometime within the next three weeks.

Even though the alternative bridge types will help achieve one goal – cost savings – project officials are likely to encounter challenges. All three meet the 95-foot ship clearance requirement, but one concern is that the cable-stay and tied-arch types would require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration because the bridge would extend into the airspace zone of Pearson Field, a nearby airport owned by the city of Vancouver, Wash. An additional layer of approval could increase the project’s cost and timeline.

The composite-deck truss type may be the front-runner. It is by far the cheapest option and wouldn’t be subject to Federal Aviation Administration approval.

The bridge is just a small portion of the entire Columbia River Crossing project, which could cost approximately $3.6 billion. In addition to the present six-lane bridge being replaced by a new 10-lane bridge, a small portion of the interstate would be reconfigured on both the Oregon and Washington sides, and seven interchanges would be reconstructed. Portland’s existing light-rail system also is expected to be extended over the bridge and into downtown Vancouver.

“(Both governors) remain strong supporters of the Columbia River Crossing project,” the statement said. “We have heard repeatedly from the citizens of the region that they expect us to proceed.

“Our work together to move this project to completion will provide 20,000 construction-related jobs that are much needed in both states. And most importantly, it will provide a safer, less-congested corridor to help the region’s economy for the long term.”