Although it has been among the region’s most pressing issues for as long as anybody can remember, efforts to solve problems with the Interstate 5 Bridge are about as congested as the bridge itself.
“I’m absolutely in favor of replacing the bridge,” said Democrat Carolyn Long, the challenger to Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, for congressional representative from Washington’s 3rd District. “It is an earthquake hazard, it is a congestion problem that should have been solved years ago.”
Long and Herrera Beutler recently discussed the issue during an interview with The Columbian’s Editorial Board. The board will provide a recommendation to voters before the Nov. 6 election; for now, we are presenting editorials comparing and contrasting the candidates’ positions on issues of importance. We previously have examined their thoughts on the economy, health care, and President Donald Trump.
“We absolutely need to replace it, and we need to replace with something that is going to reduce congestion and allow people and freight to move easily, period,” Herrera Beutler said.
Admittedly, that was the easy part. Few people in these parts are opposed to updating or replacing the bridge, but that is the extent of the local consensus. In 2013, Republican state Sens. Ann Rivers and Don Benton led a charge in the Legislature that killed the Columbia River Crossing proposal — a proposal Herrera Beutler had criticized. Since then, there has been plenty of talk but no action as congestion throughout the region has increased.
Herrera Beutler said she could support either updating or replacing the bridge, depending on the details. She favors the inclusion of bus rapid transit rather than a connection to Portland’s light-rail system, and noted that Clark County residents in the past have voted against light rail. “It’s an economics issue,” she said. “Southwest Washington is still growing and moving, so to put fixed rail into an area and say, ‘This is it, this is the only way,’ where if you do bus rapid transit you still pull in the same federal dollars, but it can evolve with you.”
Long also believes a new bridge should include bus rapid transit but be capable of adding light rail in the future. “Whether it’s light rail or bus rapid transit, I want to look into it a little bit more,” she said. “I think BRT does provide some flexibility that light rail does not.”
Both candidates oppose Oregon’s plan to institute tolls on Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 up to the state line. Herrera Beutler said, “If you don’t support getting Oregon’s Legislature in order on this tolling issue, that money is forever diverted from a bridge fix. That’s fundamental.” Long said: “I think all people would agree the way Portland did it was terrible, and tolls that would disproportionately affect Southwest Washington residents are a bad idea. But that’s trying to change how people move as far as times of day, that’s not the I-5 Bridge; they’re two separate issues.”
Long and Herrera Beutler largely agree on the basics of local transportation. The question then becomes which one would be more effective in addressing them — a question that could depend on which party has control of the House. Herrera Beutler noted her experience on the Appropriations Committee, which could play a role in providing federal money for fixing the region’s most significant transportation corridor. And she has been outspoken in opposing Oregon’s tolling plan.
Long countered by asking, “What has she done to move the project forward? Because I’m not seeing a whole lot, but I’m glad to hear her talk about it.”
