Portland, Vancouver entities stress importance of project to commerce
The ports of Vancouver and Portland have thrown their support to the governors of Washington and Oregon in their push for faster action on the Columbia River Crossing project.
The ports issued a joint statement Thursday that applauded the governors, citing the need to improve freight flow across the river. Portland Mayor Sam Adams, meanwhile, reiterated a request for local involvement that he had made with local elected officials in an earlier letter.
“The Columbia River Crossing is, bar none, the most important project in our region for freight and goods movement,” Port of Vancouver Executive Director Larry Paulson said in the statement. “In Clark County alone, over 66,000 people work in freight-generating industries that rely explicitly on the I-5 crossing to move goods, services and freight to market — this project must move forward.”
A letter from Gov. Chris Gregoire and Gov. Ted Kulongoski, made public Wednesday, came in response to the Jan. 19 letter from Adams, Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart and Metro Council President David Bradgon that supported the crossing project but called the current CRC design “unacceptable.”
The governors countered that the “citizens of this region have watched our two states discuss and plan for a new bridge for over 20 years, and they expect us to proceed.”
Adams took to his Twitter feed Thursday to say he was “disappointed” with the governors’ response.
“We are asking for due diligence, not a do-over,” Adams wrote in a statement. “We understand that time is of the essence. But we’re not asking for unlimited time.”
2012 target date
The broad outline of the crossing project has been in place since July 2008, when it received the conditional support of city councils, transit agencies and metropolitan planning organizations on both sides of the river.
“We respect the interest of Mayors Leavitt and Adams, and Commissioner Stuart and President Bradgon in ensuring this project fits the needs of the region,” Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt said in the statement. “We support reducing greenhouse gas and encouraging use of transit and other modes, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that this is a major freight project that will benefit the West Coast and the nation.”
An environmental study on the project is expected to be completed by the end of this month, to allow time for two federal transportation agencies to publish a formal Record of Decision by the end of this year — just in time for both state legislatures’ 2011 sessions and for Congress to reauthorize the federal six-year transportation funding bill. The governors expect construction to begin in 2012.
