PORTLAND — Lawmakers from Oregon and Washington met publicly for the first time Tuesday afternoon as part of a renewed effort to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge. While the group didn’t come to any sweeping conclusions after the two-hour meeting at the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs in Portland, it agreed to at least keep talking.
The meeting was a milestone for the latest attempt to replace the 101-year-old bridge. A year ago, Oregon legislative leaders snubbed an invitation to participate in a bistate committee created by Washington lawmakers to look into replacing the antiquated crossing.
Despite a warm welcome Tuesday by Washington state Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, who chaired the meeting, there was still lingering wariness from Oregon lawmakers left over from when Washington pulled out of the last attempt to replace the bridge.
“I’m here to listen very carefully to the folks from Washington and see if they’ve reached a point where they can get their act together and help in putting a project of this nature in place, because there is a definite need for it,” said Oregon state Sen. Cliff Bentz, a Republican who represents an eastern portion of the state.