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:
- Four Western WA counties granted $6.6M in federal funds for road safety programs
Four Western Washington counties will receive $6.6 million in federal funding for road safety projects, including an EMS pilot program in Clark County. - VIDEO: WA and OR lawmakers irked as update on I-5 Bridge costs still missing
Washington and Oregon lawmakers expressed frustration after planners failed to provide updated cost estimates for the I-5 Bridge replacement during a recent legislative oversight meeting. - Opinion: Atmospheric River events mean even less clearance for vessels crossing under the proposed Interstate Bridge Plan
Neighbors for a Better Crossing argues that high river levels from atmospheric river events further reduce vessel clearance under the proposed Interstate Bridge design, creating long-term navigation risks on the Columbia River. - Letter: Worried about a replacement bridge?
Sharon Nasset raises concerns about congestion, bridge capacity, and unanswered questions surrounding inspections and decisions tied to the I-5 bridge replacement effort. - Opinion: IBR promotes ‘giving away’ historic interstate bridges while withholding cost estimate for replacement
Neighbors for a Better Crossing argues the IBR program is promoting demolition of the historic Interstate Bridges without releasing updated cost estimates or current seismic data to justify replacement.
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