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Aspects of the soon-to-be mothballed Columbia River Crossing project could still have life if an amended four-year Regional Transportation Plan is adopted by Metro.

Metro Councilor Bob Stacey is the agency take a phased, incremental approach to the project, taking on issues such as congestion, seismic safety and high capacity transit. He released the eight-step amendment to the Regional Transportation plan last week.

The Regional Transportation Plan for 2014-2018 is a federally required process that ensures long-range transportation plans that have a realistic chance of being funded. The plan also is designed to meet state requirements that ensure transportation goals are in alignment with land use plans, according to Metro.

“I was never in support of (the) CRC design, but I am firmly committed to the object of increasing freight across the Columbia,” Stacey said. “It’s almost a universal view. Something has to be done.”

Details of the amendment include adding a lift to the middle of a railroad bridge one mile west of the Interstate Bridge.

The railroad bridge’s lift is currently closer to the bank of the river. That forces some barges to perform essentially an “S” turn to navigate under the Interstate Bridge’s highest span in the middle of the river.

When the river is running high, however, barges need a straight shot between the two bridges, forcing the Interstate Bridge to lift. Building a lift span under the middle of the railroad bridge would give barges a straight shot under the highest span of the Interstate Bridge – and reduce the number of lifts on the Interstate Bridge by an estimated 95 percent.

Fixing the railroad bridge has been a central part of a plan called the “Common Sense Alternative II,” proposed by local architects George Crandall and Jim Howell, Stacey said.

“We shouldn’t ignore fact that circumstances have changed for the CRC,” he said. “We should still be thinking about the consensus parts. The rest is detailed and would have to be worked out in a collaborative process between state and local governments, and the feds.”

Stacey also added another aspect of the Common Sense Alternative II plan – extending light rail from the Expo Center to Hayden Island, which he said could be done without interstate approval.

Additionally, he proposed focusing on seismic issues of bridges that cross the Columbia River, and would like to identify the most cost-effective way to provide emergency and recovery transport over the river in the aftermath of a major earthquake.

“There is a great concern about bridge stability following an earthquake,” he said. “We don’t know when that Big One would occur. What are the lifelines? Most of the bridges on the west side of the Cascades are vulnerable.”

The Metro Council will look at the RTP – and Stacey’s recommended amendment — in a work session Tuesday. The Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation, which serves in an advisory committee to Metro, will make recommendations to the regional government agency by May, Stacey said.

The Council is scheduled to make a final decision on the RTP in June. The final four-year plan would be submitted to the federal government by July, Stacey said.