Trouble with the bridge? What trouble with the bridge?
Two weeks after putting his name on a letter that was widely received in Portland as a death blow to existing plans for a new Interstate 5 bridge, Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart said he’s sure some sort of span will go up.
“There’s bumps in every road,” Stuart said. “I’m not worried.”
After 15 years of planning, the parties continue to approach an agreement, Stuart predicted in the annual “state of the county” address Thursday. There’s “little debate” that I-5’s double span is too unsafe and congested to stay in place, he said.
“The lanes are too narrow, there are no shoulders, and the lift span clogs traffic,” Stuart told the crowd of local officials and residents at Skyview High School.
His vision for the big bridge compromise to come:
• Land a share of $50 billion in possible new federal stimulus and transportation dollars.
• Get Oregon’s legislature to contribute its share in the form of a tax credit that would refund toll payments to Clark County commuters.
• Shave costs by eliminating a few onramps.
• Sell Vancouver voters on a 0.2-cent sales tax hike that would pay for better buses and operation of an extended light rail line, slowing future bridge congestion.
If a new bridge isn’t built, Stuart said, Clark County will miss “the most important step on the path to better days, both short-term and long-term.”
In 2008, Clark County voters elected Stuart’s colleague Tom Mielke, whose signature campaign issue was that a replacement bridge is unnecessary. Three months ago, Stuart’s friend Tim Leavitt unseated former Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard on a pro-bridge, anti-toll platform.
So — although 69 percent of residents polled in Clark and Multnomah counties in 2008 said a replacement bridge was “urgently” or “somewhat urgently” needed — Stuart’s pro-bridge politics could become complicated as he heads into his second re-election campaign this year.
“This project has to happen,” said Stuart, who described himself as having put in “thousands of hours of work” on the bridge since his 2004 appointment. “We have to do it.”
Call for new industry
A bigger bridge linking Clark County to Portland would be one step toward reviving a county devastated by over-investment in its building sector, Stuart said.
“Yes, we want to get the construction sector back on its feet,” he said. “But at the same time, we want to attract employers who will diversify the base.”
That’s why the county is launching a new marketing effort to lure businesses to Washington that might be looking to relocate after Oregon’s latest tax hikes, Stuart said.
“In the wake of measures 66 and 67, we see opportunity, and begin today putting out the call to Oregon businesses,” he said.
Stuart said he’d fielded 12 calls last week from businesses or their representatives, interested in relocation after the new measure taxing Oregon corporations’ gross revenue.
Washington already taxes businesses’ gross revenue, at higher rates than Oregon will.
Clark County is also finding success by retooling the local electronics industry for solar-panel manufacturing, Stuart said, and by arranging its shipyards to haul in wind turbines.
“We’ve seen innovation at its best and the birth of some Northwest business icons during or just after a recession,” Stuart said. “Weyerhaeuser, Nordstrom, Alaska Airlines, Starbucks and Costco.”
Stuart urged families scorched by the recession to “head for the light.”
“It’s easy to dwell on those struggles and let them drag you into a dark place,” he said. “I’ve had those moments.”
Stuart closed his speech with what’s become a ritual at the county’s annual event: a poem or song.
For Stuart, 38, it was a spoken-word rendition of the 1992 Bruce Springsteen tune “Better Days.”
“Every fool’s got a reason for feelin’ sorry for himself, and turning his heart to stone,” he said. “Tonight this fool’s halfway to heaven, and I feel like I’m coming home.”
As the Springsteen song kicked in over the loudspeaker, Stuart strummed an air guitar and walked off the stage.
Michael Andersen: 360-735-4508 or michael.andersen@columbian.com.
