This bridge plan hurts economic development on both sides of the river. Some people will be forced to move.
Van pools are cheaper and more convenient than trains. Eliminating MAX service saves $2 billion upfront and a 90 percent subsidy forever. No MAX trains to Vancouver.
The eight-lane Vancouver, British Columbia, tunnel, now planned for under the Fraser River, is comparable to our situation. It costs $4.1 billion total … and no toll. It’s half the cost of our proposed bridge and raised freeway.
This doesn’t begin to count the real impact for Hayden Islanders: The closing of 20 businesses on Hayden Island; the elimination of two dozen homes; a toll kills the Hayden Island mall; commuting Washingtonians shouldn’t have to move to Oregon; getting to the island is harder, not easier with the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement.
