The Vancouver City Council on Monday night supported an effort to declare replacing the Interstate 5 Bridge a project of statewide significance.
“What we’re saying is the most important project to us is not a third bridge somewhere, it’s the antiquated (Interstate 5) Bridge now,” Vancouver City Councilor Jack Burkman said.
The council gave their support to the resolution, which the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council is in the midst of considering and expected to vote on today. If approved, the resolution does little except add to the voices calling on legislators to act swiftly to ease congestion along the I-5 corridor.
“We need to send a unified message up north, and this is an opportunity to make that happen,” said Vancouver City Councilor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, who along with Burkman also sits on the regional council.
The transportation group is made up of 14 organizations and entities, including cities, three counties, the local ports and Oregon Metro.
Washington lawmakers have been meeting behind closed doors for months to try to strike an agreement on how to progress with the project. They are expected this week to introduce legislation that also would call for prioritizing the I-5 corridor and designate it as having statewide significance. If the legislation were to pass this session, it could help expedite the permitting process and construction.
State Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, said it’s rare to declare a mega-transportation project one of statewide significance. The legislation being considered would allow for a project of this scope to be considered.
Washington walked away from the now-defunct Columbia River Crossing project in 2013. The approximately $3 billion CRC would have replaced the Interstate 5 Bridge, extended light rail into Vancouver and rebuilt freeway interchanges on both sides of the Columbia River. About $200 million was spent in a planning process that stretched back to 2001.
Cleveland said legislators are working this time to work out differences of opinion early.
“I think the first important aspect here is we (agree) the goal is the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement. … The majority of us agree that we have to replace the aging I-5 Bridge, but we recognize we have to take a broader look as well … to determine what our other needs are.”
Of course, not everyone agrees.
The Regional Transportation Council also is concerned that there is language in the current transportation package that makes it impossible for the Washington State Department of Transportation to work on any Interstate 5 project.
The package says the state can’t use any additional federal transportation funds for the Columbia River Crossing project until July. Some believe that language precludes WSDOT from working with its counterpart across the river.
Cleveland said legislators determined that the language would not be an impediment because it expires at the end of the biennium. Any budget adopted this legislative session would supersede the old one.
Some lawmakers are interested in considering a third bridge option before turning attention to the Interstate 5 Bridge.
State Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, is sponsoring a measure to address the I-5 corridor but also identify other corridors that could help ease congestion. Pike has been a proponent of building a third bridge between Clark County and Oregon.
Lauren Dake: 360-735-4534; lauren.dake@columbian.com; twitter.com/LaurenDake
