Bob Ortblad scrutinizes IBR ramp design
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
Three years ago, I created and posted a graphic of a possible “Shared Use Path.” The graphic accurately depicted the difficulty of a 100-foot climb to the bridge level. Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) officials were not happy with my depiction and promised to consider future multiple ramp designs.
The latest of these designs was presented at an IBR workshop on August 27, 2025, by Knight Architects, a costly firm from London. Knight’s design has a grade of 4%, is about a half-mile-long, with turns totaling 810-degrees.
A small model of the shared use path was presented to an IBR architectural advisory group in October.
IBR October newsletter https://mailchi.mp/interstatebridge/ibroctober2025newsletter
Knight Architects’ ramp design may have been inspired by a Disney Cruise water slide. For an average walker or biker, the distance, grade, and turns will make the climb exhausting and disorienting. The descent will be terrifying. Knight Architects has a $1.4 million contract; how much was wasted on this flawed design and model?
Bob Ortblad MSCE, MBA
Seattle
Also read:
- Opinion: Greg Johnson’s $2 million contract delivered a huge mess
Johnson’s $1.9M pay coincided with IBR costs tripling and construction timeline doubling to 20 years. - Cracking down on rough roads along I-5 in Vancouver
Crews are rebuilding 2.2 miles of southbound I-5 using a crack, seat and overlay method through summer 2026. - Opinion: IBR Environmental Review confirms impacts to Hayden Island while leaving key safeguards undefined
59 residential displacements and up to 15 years of construction face Hayden Island under the IBR’s Final SEIS. - Vancouver prepares for 2026 pavement season
Vancouver’s $14 million pavement program will pave or preserve over 100 lane miles of street this summer. - Letter: Interstate Bridge Replacement lies and nonsense
Ortblad’s comment asked whether IBR studied routing 28,000 daily trucks to rail and I-205 by 2040.
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