Oregon rethinking I-5 bridge
PORTLAND – Opposition to a new Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River is growing in a key agency.
Three of seven members of the board of Metro, the Portland regional government agency, have signed on to a resolution that calls for charging tolls on the current bridge rather than replacing it right away.
The toll would raise money for improvements to the current bridge to withstand earthquakes as well as to increase mass-transit use and make on-ramps safer.
The proposal wouldn’t preclude a new bridge later on, but it would test the reaction of drivers to tolls – any new bridge is expected to be so expensive it will require tolls. The current bridge, made up of spans built in 1917 and 1958, is toll-free.
“That would give us the information we don’t have right now, which is how would people react to having to pay for the project,” said Carlotta Collette, one of the three Metro council members opposing a new bridge.
Councilors Robert Liberty and Carl Hosticka also signed the resolution. Until the resolution surfaced, Liberty appeared to be the only one of the seven Metro council members to oppose a bridge. A vote on their resolution is expected in June.
A new bridge has support from business, labor and government leaders on both sides of the Columbia River. It is aimed at relieving rush-hour congestion that frustrates commuters and truck drivers. It would also extend Portland’s light-rail system north to Vancouver and Clark County, Wash.
Critics say a new bridge would encourage suburban sprawl and increase commuting by cars, resulting in more greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere.
The most favored bridge proposal would increase the width to up to 12 lanes. There are six now.
A new bridge would cost $4.2 billion and requires the consent of numerous local, state and federal agencies. A draft environmental impact statement was released this month, and months of debate and decisions lie ahead.
The move by the three Metro leaders upset Corky Collier, executive director of the Columbia Corridor Association, which represents freight and neighborhood interests in Portland. He said it’s contrary to a trade between Oregon’s interest in extending mass transit and Washington state’s interest in more lanes for cars and trucks.
“For Oregon to say Clark County needs light rail and not a bridge is just a little bit on the arrogant side,” Collier said. “This is teamwork. We’re trying to put this project together as a group.”
Jill Fuglister, a leader of the Coalition for a Livable Future, said the idea faces up to new information about climate change and the reaction of drivers to accelerating gasoline prices.
“We actually have to pause and think of a different approach,” Fuglister said. “So that’s good news that there are folks that have the power to make a different approach happen.”