Governors push new I-5 bridge

Sat., Jan. 19, 2008

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

PORTLAND – A new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River is needed to relieve congestion and improve the flow of freight and passenger traffic, the governors of Oregon and Washington declared Friday.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire stopped short of proposing how to configure more bridge capacity or how to pay for it.

But they said the two states are committed to a replacement bridge to end what Kulongoski called one of the worst traffic bottlenecks on the West Coast.

“The oldest part of this river crossing is 90 years old and bogs down I-5 traffic like the small hole in an hourglass,” Kulongoski said.

“The interstate bridges that connect Vancouver and Portland are heavily used and aging, and it is time to replace them in the name of safety as well as economic vitality,” Gregoire said.

A task force of Oregon and Washington state officials estimates that a new bridge could cost $3.1 billion to $4.2 billion.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has endorsed a replacement bridge and said federal funding likely would account for 80 percent or more of the cost.

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