Federal agencies have published the final supplemental environmental impact statement for the Interstate Bridge replacement project, a milestone that moves the potential $14.4 billion infrastructure package closer to construction.

The federal document lays out a modified locally preferred alternative centering on a single-level fixed-span bridge, an additional lane in each direction on Interstate 5, ramps to connect I-5 to downtown Vancouver, Washington and an extension of the MAX light-rail system into Vancouver.

The 944-page study from the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration examines various scenarios for building the bridge. The modified locally preferred alternative calls for two spans of three lanes each.

Two park-and-ride lots would be built to accommodate 1,270 vehicles. One would be near the planned Waterfront Station and another near the future Evergreen Station.

Industry groups hailed the step forward for the project, which Oregon and Washington leaders have been trying to move into construction for more than 20 years, dating to the Columbia River Crossing effort.

The final SEIS is a “key next step,” said Mike Salsgiver, executive director of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter.

The bridge replacement “is critical for the region’s safety, for the reliability of the transportation system and for the economic viability of the region,” Salsgiver said.

Funding is a looming challenge for the project as the price tag has ballooned. Oregon and Washington officials have narrowed their focus to replacing the two bridge spans, connecting I-5 and extending light rail into Vancouver. Those aspects would total $7.65 billion, officials from the two states revealed in March.

“Funding is always a challenge, so having a project of this magnitude depending on federal and state funding packages could definitely create some problems if it’s not handled well,” Salsgiver said.

Salsgiver is traveling this week to Washington, D.C., to discuss Interstate Bridge project funding and other matters with members of Oregon and Washington’s congressional delegations and Trump administration officials.

Project backers are trying to avoid a repeat of the federal government awarding funding and then pulling back, as occurred last year when President Donald Trump’s budget bill rescinded more than $400 million from the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project.

As part of the Interstate Bridge project’s narrower focus, the light rail extension has been pared back, from downtown Vancouver to an elevated station near the Columbia River’s edge.

Transit discussions remain ongoing between the two states and federal agencies, Salsgiver said.

“That policy ping-pong has been going back and forth for years,” he said. “They just need to address and resolve things in that arena. It’s definitely doable but will require some focus and dedication.”

Joe Cortright, a Portland economist and prominent critic of the Interstate Bridge replacement project, said the one described in the federal study cuts against reality.

“It’s basically an EIS for a project that they pretty much said they can’t build,” Cortright said.

He criticized project officials for moving forward before completing an investment-grade analysis. That report is expected to forecast traffic counts and toll revenues. The Oregon Department of Transportation is relying on 2019 traffic data, from before the pandemic changed commuting habits, Cortright said.

The project office reports 143,400 trips were taken daily in vehicles and all other modes in 2019.

“The traffic analysis is wrong and woefully outdated,” Cortright said. “Traffic has gone down since then.”

The tolling analysis is critical to the project’s financing, Cortright said.

“Basically, anything that isn’t paid for with tolls, the two states will have to pick up,” he said. “So, it has real financial implications.”

An investment-grade analysis would almost certainly show far less traffic on I-5 in a tolling scenario, Cortright said.

The report considers a long list of possible impacts. Among them: Construction would require the demolition of the Normandy Apartments, a building with 33 affordable units on Seventh Street in downtown Vancouver.

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site would also see some impacts from highway and bridge construction. Noise and views would be affected, and the project team would need to acquire 0.4 acres from the historic site along State Route 14 west of the Vancouver Land Bridge.

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The Metro Council on Thursday approved $36 million for engineering and planning a new Interstate Bridge between Portland and Vancouver, Washington, but also passed guidance demanding transportation agencies work to reduce vehicle travel, conduct new traffic forecasts and analyze health impacts.

The decisions illustrated Metro’s divided role as a regional planning agency whose council has deep misgivings of approving a mega-bridge that would encourage behavior that worsens climate change.

“We’re basically saying we can’t tolerate a bridge that’s 10 or 12 lanes wide,” Councilor Shirley Craddick said. “It doesn’t work. It’s not healthy, and it’s not good for the health of our region and our state and, of course, our world.”

The council’s decisions Thursday allow planning for the Interstate Bridge replacement project to move forward, while putting the Oregon and Washington transportation departments on notice that Metro will not accept a massive bridge focused on vehicle capacity.

Ahead is a June vote on a “locally preferred alternative” for the bridge design. Some councilors hinted they may not support a bridge that doesn’t meet Metro’s goals.

Council President Lynn Peterson said the resolution laying out Metro’s expectations for the project is meant to provide clarity for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program and its driving agencies, including the Oregon Department of Transportation.

“This is something that wasn’t done last time and sets a higher bar for how we proceed as a region, and with our partners,” Peterson said.

Councilor Mary Nolan said she would not vote to approve the project if it doesn’t meet Metro’s expectations.

“We need the project to meet these standards to earn our approval,” she said. “It is as much holding ourselves accountable to what we’ve promised the public that we expect from this project, and to give clear advance communication to our partners, who I consider to be partners in this project.”

Nolan and Program Administrator Greg Johnson, who appeared remotely from an airport terminal, engaged in a tense back-and-forth. Nolan told Johnson a slight revision of the Columbia River Crossing would be rejected.

“You understand then that the Metro Council is telling you that a little tweaked version of the old (locally preferred alternative) is not going to cut it with us?” Nolan said.

“I do understand that,” Johnson replied. “But I need everyone to understand that this is a bistate program with eight individual partners that each have individual needs. So we hear you loud and clear and we are going to seek to meet the concerns and commit to the things that we can to get this project (moving) forward.”

The amendments adopted by Metro were little different from those proposed by a coalition of community groups including The Street Trust, 1,000 Friends of Oregon and No More Freeways. The Metro Council heard hours of public testimony that was mostly critical of the bridge project.

“We are pleased to see the Metro Council, as a partner of the Interstate 5 Bridge Project, create clear goals and accountability mechanisms to meet the region’s goals for a sustainable, healthy and effective transportation system,” the coalition stated in a news release. “We hope open communication and precise analysis of the options on the table will help ODOT and the IBR leadership right-size this project and create high-quality multimodal transportation and positive community impacts.”

Metro, in its resolution, requested an “investment-grade” traffic analysis for the project. That step is usually taken later in a project timeline. Metro councilors, following demands from critics including economist Joe Cortright, asked for the analysis now to make sure the bridge’s size follows traffic modeling with tolling in place.

Metro officials also requested check-ins every 30 days with the project team to make sure the bridge design is on track.

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Greg Johnson knows that challenges lie ahead.

As the newly appointed leader of the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, a joint effort between the Oregon and Washington transportation departments, Johnson has the daunting task of helping deliver a new iteration of a multibillion-dollar megaproject spanning the Columbia River between Portland and Vancouver.

In addition to uniting stakeholders from two states that spent $175 million on the Columbia River Crossing plan that ultimately died at the hands of Washington legislators in 2013, Johnson will have to drum up public support for a project that is likely to encounter opposition from both sides of the river.

“My immediate goal once I hit the ground is to do a lot of listening,” said Johnson, who will assume the role as the project’s program administrator on July 6. “I want to make sure that I take time and listen to everybody, what their concerns and issues are, and what they want to see this bridge be to their communities.”

Johnson was selected for the position after a national recruitment effort took place. He is a licensed engineer with experience working for the Maryland and Michigan transportation departments. He most recently served as a senior vice president with engineering giant WSP USA in Michigan.

Johnson’s experience with large infrastructure projects includes early work on the $5.7 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge; one of his duties was to reach out to wary residents of impacted neighborhoods.

“There was a lot of anguish and hard feelings, so my team members and I had numerous sit-downs in folks’ living rooms and public meetings to explain what this project could be and how it could be transformative,” he said.

Johnson is preparing to perform similar work to receive public buy-in for a new Interstate Bridge that could elicit environmental concerns from Portlanders and opposition to light rail from Vancouver residents.

“My biggest challenge is going to be getting out, meeting people, and understanding the nuances of why this project is either the panacea for all the problems, or why it’s the devil incarnate,” he said. “I’ve got to understand all of those viewpoints in an intimate way.”

Equity and inclusion are top priorities for the bridge replacement program, Johnson said with acknowledgment of past practices.

“It’s no secret that when the interstates were sited back in the ’50’s, they took the poorest areas – sometimes the minority areas of a community – and said, ‘Well, this is where we’re going to route the interstate,’” he said.

Some of those legacies still exist, Johnson said, so having conversations to address those issues and build trust in the community will be crucial, as will employing minority contractors and maintaining a diverse workforce on the project.

“I’ve worked in some of the wealthiest communities and also some of the poorest communities in this country,” he said.  “And it is the poorest communities that always feel that their voice isn’t heard, so I want to make sure that everybody feels that they are heard and their input is taken into account to shape what this project can be.”

Conducting face-to-face meetings will be difficult in the coronavirus era, Johnson acknowledged, but he is looking forward to having conversations to convince stakeholders that the time is right to pursue a bridge replacement.

“I’ve seen projects that start out as a house on fire and fizzle out because the political will is lost,” he said. “So I think communication to the stakeholders and to the public in general is going to be a key to keeping the momentum going to get this thing pushed across the finish line.”

Oregon and Washington together have dedicated $44 million to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program. Officials are targeting a summer 2021 start for an environmental review process, which is expected to take between three and five years.

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Oregon Gov. Kate Brown joined Washington Gov. Jay Inslee at the Vancouver waterfront on Monday in a bid to place new urgency on replacing the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River.

“This bridge could fall down any day with a small seismic event,” Inslee said.

Monday’s event, held at a new office building at The Waterfront Vancouver with a view of the bridge, came as a show of unity and purpose for the leaders of two states whose last attempt to rebuild the bridge dissolved into inaction and finger-pointing.

Inslee said those days of interstate acrimony are over.

“This is a new time and a new day in a variety of ways,” Inslee said, pointing to changes in the Washington Legislature and scientific advances that have deepened the understanding of seismic risks in the Pacific Northwest.

The two states have pledged a total of $44 million to form a joint bridge office to study past plans and evaluate new options. The previous attempt to build a new I-5 bridge ground to a halt in 2013 after the Washington Legislature declined to fund that state’s share of the Columbia River Crossing project.

Recently, a joint committee has met to begin anew the process of rallying for a new bridge.

Inslee took the lead in Monday’s press conference, saying the Interstate Bridge must be replaced.

“There is no option other than making this investment,” he said.

The bridge opened as a single span in 1917. The second span opened 41 years later.

In recent years, booming population growth in the Portland-metro area has added to pressures on the bridge. Many Portland-area workers live in Vancouver, where home prices are typically more affordable, and cross the bridge as part of their commutes. At the same time, economic growth and the rise of e-commerce shipping have greatly increased freight traffic.

“It is a traffic bottleneck that is not consistent with the economies of Oregon and Washington,” Inslee said.

Public agencies in Oregon are scrambling to prepare infrastructure for a sizable earthquake that could render many metro-area bridges impassable. In Portland, only the Sellwood Bridge and Tilikum Crossing are considered likely to remain operable after a worst-case earthquake.

The Interstate Bridge conversations mirror a push in Multnomah County to replace the 93-year-old Burnside Bridge.

Any replacement for the Interstate Bridge would cost billions of dollars. The price tag of the Columbia River Crossing was estimated at $3.3 billion to $4.1 billion in 2011, and construction costs have escalated sharply since.

Local opposition to light rail in Vancouver has created headaches for the project. Both Inslee and Brown insisted that any new bridge must carry what they called “high-capacity transit,” but neither specified whether that would be light rail or bus service. The existing bridge has minimal accommodations for non-vehicle users.

“What I think is critically important is we invest in high-capacity public transit on this bridge,” Brown said.

Inslee suggested a federal infrastructure package would need to be approved to provide funding for the project. The bridge is a critically important arterial connection that should be a national infrastructure priority, he said.

The press conference drew leaders from both states, although Portland commissioners were absent. Inslee planned to travel to Salem later Monday for more meetings with Oregon officials.

William Myers, executive secretary of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, said a Columbia River bridge project would be a boon for the trades.

“It’s going to put a lot of families to work,” he said.

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Years after Washington politicians derailed a bistate effort to replace the Interstate Bridge, current state leaders are working to demonstrate that they’re serious about returning to the table.

In the five years since Washington refused to pay its share of Columbia River Crossing costs, growth has exploded on both sides of the river. Portland became one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, and Vancouver suburbs such as Camas gained thousands of residents. Traffic has only worsened as more commuters and more freight haulers have pushed onto Interstate 5.

A wave of support for revisiting the project in Southwest Washington has been building. Now, the Vancouver City Council, Clark County and three ports have asked the Washington State Department of Transportation to push forward with a new I-5 bridge project.

Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle will lead a city delegation on a visit to Gov. Jay Inslee’s office in November. Last year, Inslee signed into law a bill that calls for starting a planning committee for a future Columbia River bridge.

McEnerny-Ogle said she plans to ask Inslee to open an office dedicated to the project. Taken together, the efforts are a major push for a generational transportation project.

“I think we’re going to see something,” McEnerny-Ogle said in an interview last week. “We’re very excited. I think this is going to start working out.”

In another sign of the interest in Washington, a delegation of state lawmakers recently visited the Interstate Bridge.

Oregon leaders left the Columbia River Crossing debacle frustrated with Washington’s abandonment of the project. Yet elected officials south of the Columbia, including Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Gov. Kate Brown, have made public statements that suggest they’re open to reviving the discussions.

“Gov. Brown is encouraged our partners in Washington are ready to renew constructive conversations on this vital piece of transportation infrastructure,” spokeswoman Nikki Fisher stated in an email. “The current bridge is a seismic risk, a freight bottleneck and a barrier to effective public transportation.”

Washington leaders said they’re optimistic Brown will re-engage in the project after the Nov. 6 election. She faces a strong challenge from Republican Knute Buehler.

Renewed interest in the bridge comes against a backdrop of strong growth throughout the region. Vancouver’s population grew to 175,673 in 2017, an 8.1 percent increase since 2010, according to the Census Bureau. Portland grew 11 percent during the same period, to 647,805 residents. Some small towns in the area have seen even stronger growth. For example, Camas, Washington, grew 20.5 percent to 23,331 residents in 2017.

Semitruck traffic has worsened as shippers have put more cargo containers on trucks instead of ships and trains.

“The freight has changed tremendously,” McEnerny-Ogle said.

More projects are popping up in downtown Vancouver, where workers and visitors rely on access to I-5. And the master plan for the sprawling Waterfront Vancouver development, led by Gramor Development, calls for building 3,300 residences within a few blocks of the Interstate Bridge.

Gramor President Barry Cain said a new I-5 bridge is all but inevitable.

“Everybody seems to agree that there will be another bridge,” he said.

Mass transit was a sticking point during planning for the Columbia River Crossing, with Washington residents protesting any potential light-rail links to Portland. It’s not clear whether that opposition has changed.

Federal transportation grants needed for a new I-5 bridge require it to accommodate high-capacity transit in a dedicated guideway. That could mean light rail, or it could result in a dedicated bridge lane for Vancouver’s Bus Rapid Transit system.

McEnerny-Ogle said it’s too soon to talk about light rail.

“This is such a new project,” she said. “We know we need to examine all of the potential mass-transit options available for the new project.”

Many observers worry that light rail would change Vancouver.

“As nice as light rail is, as soon as Portland got it, they stopped building new roads,” Cain said.

Some of the studies done for the Columbia River Crossing could simply be updated, McEnerny-Ogle said.

Few transportation projects generate contracts as large as a bridge. Cost estimates for the Columbia River Crossing, contained in a 2011 final environmental impact statement, ranged from $3.3 billion to $4.1 billion. Construction costs have surged since, making a new bridge likely even more expensive.

There are discussions of other ways to connect Oregon and Washington, including a bullet train that would run from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Portland. The Washington Department of Transportation released a study in February that found constructing ultra-high-speed rail would cost $24 billion to $42 billion. Trains could run at more than 200 mph.

Washington’s study estimated an ultra-high-speed rail would generate 38,000 construction jobs and $29 billion in labor income annually during a 10-year construction period. The idea faces a number of obstacles, including the addition of an international border to many competing municipalities.

There’s also an effort led by transportation marketing veteran Susan Bladholm to start a ferry from west Vancouver to downtown Portland. The Frog Ferry, as it’s called, would start on the Columbia River and navigate up the Willamette, reaching as far south as Lake Oswego.

The post Another try to bridge the divide appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Washington House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill to begin preliminary work to develop a new Interstate 5 crossing of the Columbia River.

designates a revived I-5 crossing as a project of statewide significance, and encourages Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to enter a memorandum of understanding with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and empanel a two-state legislative committee. It would appropriate $350,000 to pay for a planning inventory.

The bill passed 60-38 and is now in committee in the Senate.

Since the Columbia River Crossing project was officially shut down in 2014, congestion has worsened on the Interstate Bridge between Portland and Vancouver, Washington. The northbound span was built in 1917 and the southbound was built in 1958. Neither is expected to withstand a serious earthquake.

Between 2005 and 2013, $190 million was spent to develop the Columbia River Crossing. The ambitious project would have replaced both spans, extended light rail from Portland to Vancouver, and improved bike and pedestrian lanes. Cost estimates ranged from $3.1 billion to $3.5 billion. The federal government had committed to contribute tens of millions of dollars toward the project.

People who testified in favor of the bill requested that the new project pick up where the previous one left off. They suggested working with President Donald Trump, who has proposed passing a massive infrastructure package.

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Brad Cloepfil, founding principal of Allied Works Architecture, divides his time between the firm’s Portland and New York offices. He arrived in Portland this week for the opening of an exhibit featuring items he thought would never be made public: the artistic expressions his firm has used to stimulate design over the past 15 years.

The exhibit opens Saturday and will run through Sept. 4 at the Portland Art Museum. “” includes 17 architectural sculptures made from wood, porcelain, resin, concrete and collaged textiles, as well as more than 30 drawings ranging from sketches to large-scale charcoal and pastels. The exhibit opened in January in Denver at the Clyfford Still Museum and will eventually travel to other museums throughout the country.

Cloepfil has designed scores of museums and other works throughout the country and outside of it. Of course, not all of Allied Works Architecture’s designs are constructed. Before the Columbia River Crossing project was scuttled, Cloepfil’s firm had been selected to design with Gustafson Guthrie Nichol a park-like cap over Interstate 5 in Vancouver, Wash.

Recently, Cloepfil answered a few questions from the 91��Ƶ.

91��Ƶ: You have had a lot of major projects outside of Portland. What kind of projects would you like to do here and why?

Brad Cloepfil: I love Portland. It would be nice to have a major project in Portland; it’s just a question of who wants us. We get hired by communities or institutions to make amazing architecture. Right now we’re doing a little museum in Corvallis for the Benton County Historical Society. It’s a small project, but still nice to have the work. To have more work in Portland would be really great. No specific kind (of project), but my door is open. Call me any time.

91��Ƶ: What do you think of the state of architecture in fast-growing Portland right now?

Cloepfil: It’s interesting what happens when cities the size of Portland have these booms like the Pearl District condo boom and now on the east side the apartment boom. At one level, density is good, but I think at another level Portland’s architecture is more adventurous than most cities. The hard part is when you have a boom and the city’s so small that no matter how good the architecture, if it’s six-story apartment buildings, it affects the scale and character of the city. When you have a boom of this scale when you’re building so much, it’s tough on the natural fabric of the city – like a monoculture in some ways. It’s challenging, but it’s happening to a lot of cities, not just Portland.

91��Ƶ: Do you worry that with all the activity some poor quality buildings are going up?

Cloepfil: Again, I honestly believe there is higher quality for the kind of development it is. It’s just fact that everything is “of this moment” and there’s a kind of a lack of diversity. When you’re filling whole neighborhoods with new buildings, you lose historical context, you lose scale of the neighborhood and create a monoculture, like MLK (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) and Vancouver Avenue. It’s just a bit much when all that development is concentrated in such a short amount of time. Neighborhoods lose the kind of richness they would have if they were developed more slowly over time.

91��Ƶ: This is the first time you’ve shown any of your early concepts in public. Why now?

Cloepfil: We had been approached by (museum) curators and directors for the last 10 years and I didn’t want to do it because these were never intended to be art objects. But now architecture is driven almost exclusively by image and architectural development as much as to sell a project. The exhibit will show a side of research and discovery and exploration. It’s a position piece for us. There’s lot of novelty out there – going back to MLK, you see a lot of novelty for novelty’s sake. The show in some way is a counterproposal to that. This show is about a search for thought and ideas over images.

91��Ƶ: Oregon is known as a place where people make things with their hands. How does that tie in to your approach to creative design?

Cloepfil: Huge impact. I think Oregon has a history of making things with their hands and I think my interest and tendency to look at artworks as inspiration always has benefits. A lot of these abstract pieces of walnut or porcelain or glass come from a history of making in the Oregon that I grew up in and also from learning from various artists. Really, those bits and pieces and sketches are a desperate investigation to find the architecture. Our job is to do whatever we can to try and find why the architecture exists and to give the project meaning.

91��Ƶ: Do you think architecture overall would improve if more architects used your methods to unlock their creativity?

Cloepfil: Most architecture is a product, but we are lucky enough to get projects, whether it’s institutions or houses, where we can pursue ideas – an all too rare opportunity in our culture today. Our process is just a reflection of my belief in architecture. It should be about ideas, an exploration to show one reason we chose to do a project. It states a position that I believe that architecture is too much about imagery and not enough about content and meaning. So these objects and sketches in the show are not intended to sell images to clients; they are intended as a search for ideas and a search for understanding. Ninety percent were never intended to be shown to clients; they were just for us.

91��Ƶ: How did you feel when the Columbia River Crossing failed and your design for the Vancouver Community Connector was scuttled?

Cloepfil: That was hard. That was a really fun project – such an interesting project – a piece of infrastructure. The (proposed) park unified two sides of city. It was an interesting competition and I was surprised at aspirational qualities of it, that they would think of spending that money. From a design point of view, we win projects and then some go away or go on hold. But for the cities of Vancouver and Portland to have said they support it would have been really exciting and also would have been great for Vancouver.

91��Ƶ: What is the main thing you hope the public takes away from seeing this exhibit?

Cloepfil: That we are architects and share a process with artists and other visual thinkers about discovery and ideas and investigation. It’s not just making the newest, coolest thing. In the world of architecture, that’s more about artistic inquiry.

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Clark County wants to build two new bridges over the Columbia River. County commissioners recently approved resolutions to set up two task forces over the next six months to study construction of two additional connections between Washington and Oregon. But neither light rail nor tolls will be included.

The failure of the Columbia River Crossing, a freeway megaproject to widen and modernize the Interstate Bridge, was a costly lesson, Clark County Council Chairman David Madore said. “Crippling congestion” on the Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 corridors has stifled interstate commerce, he said, but the light rail planned for the CRC would not have been an effective solution.

“The legislatures in Oregon and Washington spent a $200 million ‘tuition’ payment on a boondoggle and basically abandoned it with no tangible outcome except ‘what we can learn from the experience,’ ” he said.

The problem with the CRC, Madore said, was that it was proposed from the legislatures to the people. By setting up the task forces, the effort to find a new proposal will start with the people and work its way up to the legislatures.

In 2013, after the Washington State Legislature failed to pass essential funding for the CRC, Clark County voters approved measures to pursue the two bridges as long as they didn’t include tolls or light rail, Madore said. The East County bridge would be located between Interstate 205 and Troutdale, and the West County bridge would be west of Portland International Airport.

Troutdale Mayor David Daoust said he supports the effort.

“I see it as a long-term solution because it’s really limited (as to) what can be done in I-5 corridor and I-205 corridor as far as increasing capacity on those two,” he said.

Daoust also supported plans for the task forces in a letter to Clark County commissioners and mayors of Camas, Vancouver and Washougal in Washington.

“We want to join you in this positive vision for economic stimulus, jobs and industrial land development reasons, in contrast to doing nothing and living with stagnation and traffic jams into the future,” he wrote.

Wood Village Mayor Patricia Smith also supports plans to study new bridges across the river.

“It would have no light rail – just for cars and buses – and that would alleviate a lot of congestion and would enable (people) to take the bridge across and get on the MAX on our side of the river,” she said. “There would have to be a lot more information before anything begins to materialize, but this would be a good move. I think it’s great that Vancouver and us can work together.”

The two task forces will be guided by seven principles stated in resolutions passed by Clark County, Madore said. The first three are to protect and enhance the river navigation channel, interstate commerce and “the unity of our bi-state community.” The other four principles are to provide new freight corridors, reserve resources for future bi-state freight corridors, invite private-sector firms to help design and build the bridges and make sure any proposals are embraced by Clark County citizens.

Madore said each task force will include 10 community leaders from both states who will gather, study and then provide a recommendation in writing “for a community-supported design that can be fast-tracked, funded and constructed in a timely manner.”

Prospective task force members and experts interested in providing technical support can contact Madore via email at david.madore@clark.wa.gov. More information is available at: www.clark.wa.gov/councilors/county-seeks-leaders-fast-track-new-toll-free-bi-state-bridges.

Funding for the proposed CRC was flawed because it depended too much on federal dollars allocated for light rail, Madore said, but funding for the new bridges should come from existing gas tax revenues from both states.

“Nothing happens without vision and nothing happens without leadership and without a diligent commitment to work and do hard stuff,” he said. “That’s why we have the I-205 bridge today, because of collaboration on both sides of the river. It was a sensible funding mechanism that was toll free and used existing gas taxes.”

Madore said the goal of the CRC was “light rail at any cost,” but it would have reduced the navigation channel on the river without reducing congestion because most people would still drive their cars. He stated that only 3 percent of commuters use public transit.

“We could still have public transportation in the form of express buses, but light rail doesn’t make sense for Clark County,” he said. “We don’t have the density of a London or a New York City and we don’t have a high-population density center.”

Once the two task forces complete their proposals, the plans will be presented to the state legislatures as well as Congress, Madore said.

“People say, ‘How are you going to fund it?’ ” he said, “and it’s the same way we funded every other (major) project in Oregon and Washington over the last several decades: with existing gas taxes.”

The post Reviewing plans for new interstate spans appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

President Barack Obama‘s plan to cut red tape that holds back federal transportation projects has some of its roots in the Columbia River Crossing project, Oregon officials say.

, announced Wednesday, does not require congressional approval. It includes several steps designed to improve permitting and coordination among federal agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the White House.

“I would expect over time that as they institutionalize what they learn that a number of projects will benefit,” said Travis Brouwer, chief of staff for the Oregon Department of Transportation. “We have found over time that more complicated projects go much smoother when the federal government is involved earlier and we coordinate the work of the federal agencies early in the process.”

The plan also calls for expansion of the Federal Infrastructure Projects Permitting Dashboard, which helped the CRC gain speedier permitting after a flap with the U.S. Coast Guard over bridge height could have delayed the process. The Coast Guard called for a taller bridge, but the U.S. Department of Transportation intervened and the White House added the CRC to the newly created dashboard.

“We’re confident that’s what led to the issuance of the permit,” Brouwer said. “It’s a concrete example where poor coordination across federal agencies and processes that didn’t line up led to some real issues with a major project.”

For smaller projects, the real impact of the president’s initiative could be savings of time and money because of improved interagency coordination, said Ron Kutch, information technology manager for Coos Bay-based West Coast Contractors Inc.

The company has a large number of federal contracts that often are held up by an archaic permitting process, he said.

“You go from one agency that thoroughly vets it to the next group that needs to review it – then there is a call for hearings and a comment period,” he said. “Sometimes, we’ll get four reviews down and then we’ll have to rehash it all over again.”

Kutch called modernization of the permitting process a “great idea” if it becomes institutionalized to help smaller projects.

“In our case, we may not get any of the major infrastructure projects,” he said. “However, any streamlining of the permit process that will allow different agencies to collaborate and work together will benefit all of us.”

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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.

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