Rep. John Ley says it’s all ‘very disappointing and very expensive to the taxpayers’

VANCOUVER – On Friday (April 17), the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) announced the publication of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement by the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration.

This is among the final steps in the federal National Environmental Policy Act process that provides information on the effects and benefits of major infrastructure projects on the natural and built environments.

The Final SEIS contains technical analysis of the future effects of building the elements that comprise the IBR Program’s Modified Locally Preferred Alternative and compares it to doing nothing. The Modified LPA includes a multimodal replacement of both the northbound and southbound spans of the aging Interstate Bridge across the Columbia River, extending light rail, adding express bus on the shoulder, enhance bike and pedestrian facilities, and modification of seven interchanges within the program’s five-mile corridor on Interstate 5 from Victory Boulevard to State Route 500.

The full document includes an executive summary available in multiple languages, the chapters of the Final SEIS, appendices and technical reports. It also contains all comments received on the Draft SEIS, responses to those comments, an updated list of properties that may be affected by construction, recommended mitigations and recommended design options. The Program’s recommendations for several design options described in the document include:

• A single-level fixed-span bridge configuration across the Columbia River
• One auxiliary lane in each direction of I-5 to improve safety by giving cars more room to enter and exit
• Inclusion of C Street ramps to connect downtown Vancouver to I-5
• Maintaining a centered I-5 alignment through Vancouver
• Dispersing 1,270 parking spaces across up to five Park & Ride sites

Friday’s news was expected, but not met with approval from many elected officials and others who have scrutinized the IBR proposal for many years now.

“The IBR proposal does not ‘fix’ the traffic congestion problem,’’ Rep. John Ley told Clark County Today. “Sadly, there is no date indicating when the IBR submitted the documents to the federal government. However there is no way the FHWA and FTA staff were able to review the issues raised by citizens and organizations, and the adequacy of the responses. This is all eye-wash – very disappointing and very expensive to the taxpayers.’’

The document may be accessed on the IBR Final SEIS website. Community members may also review hard copies at several locations:

• Interstate Bridge Replacement Program Office, 500 Broadway, Suite 200, Vancouver, WA 98660; Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Vancouver City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St., Vancouver, WA 98660; Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., closed Saturday and Sunday
• Vancouver Community Library, 901 C St., Vancouver, WA 98660; Tuesday-Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Friday-Monday 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• The Charles Jordan Community Center, 9009 N. Foss Ave., Portland, OR 97203; Monday-Friday 6:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., closed Sunday
• The Portland Building, 1120 SW Fifth Ave., Portland, OR 97204; Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., closed Saturday and Sunday

Section 106 The Final SEIS includes the Programmatic Agreement (PA) for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. An executed, signed Final PA will be attached to the Amended Record of Decision.

Next steps

FHWA and FTA are expected to issue an Amended Record of Decision in 2026. The Amended ROD is the critical federal approval that confirms compliance with NEPA and Section 106. It also identifies the selected alternative including design options and the Program’s commitments to avoid, minimize and mitigate the potential community and environmental impacts of building the Program. Once the Amended ROD is issued, the IBR Program will be able to begin construction-related activities including the procurement process to bring on a contractor for the bridge replacement. A design and construction team is expected to be on board in 2027.