After helping defeat the Columbia River Crossing, Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, went on to propose a seismic retrofit of the existing bridges. This makes me believe she and others opposed to replacing the bridges never read the CRC Independent Review Panel Final Report or any of several seismic studies. The report and studies say the bridges are very likely to collapse during an earthquake. A panel of nationally recognized bridge experts concluded that the bridges cannot be upgraded to fully meet seismic design standards without complete bridge reconstruction.
If the earthquake occurs during commute hours, the number of dead and injured on the bridges will be very high. While the collapsed bridges sit on the bottom of the river, all land and river commerce will cease. The cost of demolition and reconstruction will far exceed the cost of the CRC.
Some local politicians and wanna-be politicians exploited the voters’ fears of light rail and tolls and totally neglected safety concerns. The question that should have been put to voters is, “Do you want a bridge that won’t collapse?” It’s difficult for me to understand why Clark County Councilor David Madore proposes a third bridge while we continue to use “a disaster waiting to happen.” I question his motives.
