The Interstate 5 bridge on Aug. 9, 2020.
Legislators on both sides of the Columbia River continued talks on how to replace the Interstate 5 bridge during the latest replacement committee meeting.
On Aug. 6, members of the Joint Oregon-Washington Legislative Action Committee had their second remote meeting of the year, laying the groundwork for processes to eventually lead to a project concept. Among discussion topics, legislators were tasked with seeing if transportation problems previously identified had already been addressed, and if there were new problems that needed to be considered.
Issues identified in the past included seismic vulnerability, limited public transportation, impaired freight movement, inadequate bicycle and pedestrian facilities, safety concerns based on existing roadway, and growing travel demand and congestion.
Washington State Department of Transportation Southwest Regional Administrator Carley Francis said that data would drive the focus on each of the issues, explaining that if data showed a problem wasn’t as significant as once thought it would be brought before the committee to discuss.
Francis said that for congestion, reliability of transportation was more of a focus, as she explained the existing corridor, financial constraints and other factors made “completely resolving congestion during the peak of the peak time is not something that we think is that viable to do.”
“Generally speaking, our bridge is now almost all day long at the peak period,” Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, remarked.
One new issue Francis brought to consider was the impact of smart automobile technology on traffic. Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, said she didn’t see it as such a problem as a potential solution for other transportation issues.
The committee also addressed what community engagement for the project will look like. Interstate Bridge Replacement Project Administrator Greg Johnson said effective engagement was the base of any successful project, adding that the quality of that engagement could range from simply posting a flyer in a public space to actively knocking on doors to speak with individuals.
Johnson said he has already spent time on Hayden Island and in communities to the south looking at how the bridge fit in the neighborhood context, having conversations with residents.
Good community engagement would include low-income and minority populations, groups Johnson said can be harder to reach in some circumstances.
Prior community engagement undertaken during the failed Columbia River Crossing project included more than 900 public events and 12,000 public comments between February 2005 and June 2011, WSDOT Southwest Region Communications Manager Kimberly Pincheira presented. Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, recalled feedback from those who took part in the events who felt that suggestions given were not implemented, in some cases relatively minor ones.
“A part of the meaningful discussion has to be where we honestly want to see what we can implement from the feedback from the general public,” Rivers said.
The committee also discussed the development of a conceptual finance plan for the project, something tentatively scheduled to be complete in December.
ODOT Assistant Director of Revenue, Finance and Compliance Travis Brouwer said work was still in a “very early state” of the replacement project, with specifics on overall costs and scope of the project still not completely defined. He brought up cost and finance assumptions made during the Columbia River Crossing project in 2013 as a historical point.
At that time the cost of the bridge project for work over the Columbia River was estimated at about $1.2 billion, with an additional roughly $850 million anticipated for high capacity transit, then determined to be light rail.
An additional $600 million was also estimated for work on the Oregon side, and about $400 million on the Washington, Brouwer added, leading to a total project cost of about $3.2 billion.
Brouwer said that plan broke out funding into thirds, anticipating one third from federal funding, another third from user fees such as tolls, and the remaining third from both states.
Brouwer said that the finance plan for the current bridge replacement project “may look somewhat different, may look very different” to the plan for the Columbia River Crossing.
Herrera Beutler pledges support for project, asks for SW Washington representation in discussion
U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler has also weighed in on the replacement project, sending a letter to Johnson detailing her considerations. In it she pledged support for the project in her position in Congress, urging Johnson to keep considerations of Southwest Washington residents through the process of coming up with a replacement. She said that those residents’ concerns weren’t addressed adequately during the Columbia River Crossing project.
Herrera Beutler said shorter, safer commutes, greater freight mobility and seismic resilience were chief among aspects she wished to see addressed, adding that those issues be addressed in “a transparent, inclusive process” with widespread support from both states.
“We are counting on you to create and uphold such a process,” Herrera Beutler wrote.
“Any project to replace the I-5 bridge will require a strong federal partner, and I stand ready to work with you to ensure that our federal gas tax dollars are brought back to help pay for a new bridge that meets Southwest Washington’s needs,” Herrera Beutler concluded.
