Bob Ortblad says $60 million of greenwashing may fall millions short
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
The city of Vancouver and WSDOT are celebrating USDOT’s $30 million grant to build a lid over a short length of the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program’s freeway expansion. The IBR has committed an additional $30 million. However, $60 million of greenwashing may fall millions short. The Rose Quarter’s Lid is estimated to cost over $100 million/acre. A Vancouver 3-acre Lid at Evergreen Boulevard could cost $300 million. Will the City of Vancouver and WSDOT be stuck with a $240 million balance?
A costly 400-foot-long lid design was canceled by the Columbia River Crossing. A lid will be an ineffective fig leaf covering only 3% of the 2.5-mile-long Vancouver freeway expansion. The lid will do little to mitigate the devastation to Downtown Vancouver and Fort Vancouver from four expanded interchanges and 12 acres of elevated freeway. The Vancouver City Council should visit Seattle’s South Jackson Street 4-acre I-5 underpass and see its environmental and social impacts.
The IBR fraudulently disqualified an immersed tunnel alternative design that would provide a lid about two hundred yards of I-5 on both riverbanks and provide waterfront parks.
Bob Ortblad MSCE, MBA
Seattle, WA
Also read:
- Opinion: Interstate Bridge replacement – the forever project
Joe Cortright argues the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project could bring tolling and traffic disruptions on I-5 through the mid-2040s. - Opinion: Oversized tires and the frequency illusion
Doug Dahl explains why tires that extend beyond fenders are illegal and how frequency illusion shapes perceptions about traffic safety. - Opinion: IBR’s systematic disinformation campaign, its demise
Neighbors for a Better Crossing challenges IBR’s seismic claims and promotes a reuse-and-tunnel alternative they say would save billions at the I-5 crossing. - Opinion: Is a state income tax coming, and the latest on the I-5 Bridge project
Rep. John Ley shares a legislative update on a proposed state income tax, the I-5 Bridge project, the Brockmann Campus and House Bill 2605. - Board authorizes C-TRAN to sign off on Interstate Bridge Replacement Program’s SEIS
The C-TRAN Board approved the Final SEIS for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, with Camas and Washougal opposing the vote over light rail cost concerns.
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