The proposed east county bridge could be heading farther east. But it still needs crucial buy-in, and its new location may present new hurdles.
Republican Clark County Councilor David Madore, a driving force behind the idea of a new span connecting Washington and Oregon east of Interstate 205, indicated recently that he wants to consider shifting its alignment. Madore recently said he’s exploring moving the proposed bridge so that it crosses the Columbia River between Camas and Troutdale, Ore. The previous concept would have landed in Clark County at Southeast 192nd Avenue, inside the city limits of Vancouver.
Details of the new alignment are unclear.
“There is still much work to be done. We’re on it,” Madore wrote on his Facebook page this week. “If this is the direction that you want our community to go, then please weigh in. Our job is to listen to you, our bosses.”
Madore declined to comment to The Columbian.
The move raises new questions about a project that currently doesn’t exist on any official transportation plans in either state. It also appears to significantly change the proposal supported by voters through non-binding advisory measures in 2013 and 2014. Materials submitted to voters in both elections referred to an east county bridge at Southeast 192nd Avenue. A website set up for the proposal also still uses the 192nd Avenue alignment.
That concept, however, lacks the necessary support from the Vancouver City Council.
Troutdale Mayor Doug Daoust said he met with Madore earlier this month to talk about the plan that would bring the bridge into his city. While he’s open to the idea, Daoust said the plan needs additional study. As proposed, the bridge would likely land on Port of Portland property at the Troutdale Airport, he said.
“It appeared the landings on the Oregon side had not been thought out very thoroughly,” Daoust said. The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area also begins just east of the airport.
But that’s not to say people wouldn’t support the general concept, he added.
“The idea of looking at a third bridge is appealing, and probably necessary,” Daoust said, noting congestion on the Interstate 205 corridor. “The idea of a third bridge, I think people could get behind it on the Oregon side.”
Madore told the Vancouver Business Journal that the span would connect state Highway 14 in the Camas area and Interstate 84 near Exit 17 in Oregon.
Camas City Manager Pete Capell said the Vancouver Business Journal story, published online Friday, was “the first I’d heard” of the new version of the proposal. While the Camas City Council has not discussed the project, Capell said, “I don’t think there would be support for it at this point in time.”
But Camas, like others, is willing to listen, Capell said.
“If (Madore) or somebody from the county wanted to talk to us about that, we would definitely entertain (a conversation),” he said.
Connecting to a state highway would also require the blessing of the Washington State Department of Transportation. So far, the agency has received no direct contact about the proposal, said WSDOT spokesman Bart Treece.
