Monday’s traffic calamity in Clark County reminded us of the region’s dependence on Interstate 5 — and the I-5 Bridge.
It also brought up questions about an eventual replacement for the bridge, the process for constructing that replacement and the benefits of a third metro-area bridge across the Columbia River. After all, when we’re sitting in our cars moving at a glacial pace, we have plenty of time to ponder life’s important questions.
We’ll get to those in a moment. First, a little background: At about 9:30 a.m. Monday, Portland police received a call regarding a home invasion robbery in which the suspect stole the victim’s car. After reports of several carjackings, police identified the suspect and began a pursuit.
The suspect drove onto Interstate 5 southbound, traveling in the wrong direction. After attempting another carjacking, the suspect was fatally shot by police.
I-5 was closed in both directions for more than six hours, with traffic being redirected to side streets until about 5 p.m. Interstate 205 was left as the only path between Vancouver and Portland.
For the people affected by the crime spree, the concerns of drivers throughout the metro area are secondary. But for motorists throughout the region, it amounted to carmageddon.
As The Columbian reported: “Traffic on I-205 and Highway 14 was a parking lot for much of the day, and there wasn’t a highway in Clark County or the Portland area that wasn’t seeing delays or closures. The backups spilled onto surface streets, including East Mill Plain and Fourth Plain boulevards in Vancouver.”
Traffic maps showed backups on southbound I-205 past the junction with I-5 in Salmon Creek — about 10 miles north of the Interstate 205 Bridge.
Trips on this side of the river that typically would take 15 minutes took more than an hour. Longer excursions kept drivers in their cars for hours. Clearly, what happens on Interstate 5 in Portland does not stay on Interstate 5; it impacts the entire region.
Which brings up the question about how we will respond if a replacement for the I-5 Bridge is approved. Will we be limited to one bridge during construction?
Kelliann Amico, public information officer for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, wrote in an email to The Columbian: “The replacement bridge will be built west of the existing bridge. Once the replacement bridge is complete, the original bridge will be removed.”
Such a strategy has been employed for bridges elsewhere in the country, and it will mitigate the impact of construction over the Columbia River.
But it leaves concerns about transportation and the economy if there is an unexpected closure of the current I-5 Bridge. With only one operational bridge, as we have seen, the region comes to a standstill. That highlights the need to prepare for construction of a third bridge once an I-5 replacement is approved. Replacing the outdated spans and expanding mass transit are the priorities, but those efforts will not solve all the region’s transportation issues.
Together, the I-5 and I-205 bridges carry more than 300,000 vehicles on a typical weekday, and that number will only increase as the region’s population increases. More bridges are needed to relieve pressure on the system, although there have been no viable proposals for where those bridges would be placed.
The pressure reached the critical point on Monday, and it extended to thoroughfares throughout the region. The event was a reminder of the need to quickly address our transportation issues.
