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
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CRC was forced to cancel wasteful aspects of the plan due to public scrutiny. Lids are not necessary for I-5. Seems wise to allow the rains to wash the road, with proper drainage. In Oregon, the proposed lid over I-5 for “restorative justice”, is part of the equity lens applied by IBR. Freight haulers are concerned that the OR I-5 lid may narrow lanes on I-5, since the IBR plan is supposed to improve freight mobility, not make it worse. The OR cover is currently estimated at $900 Million, expected to increase.
The current Evergreen Blvd overpass has a lovely painted mural on the sides, planter boxes, and room for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles. Cutting unnecessary and expensive add-ons like freeway covers makes sense, saving existing buildings, time and money in both states. The currently estimated $60 Million plus for a cover over I-5 in Vancouver would be better spent on repairing existing bridges, such as the Slough Bridge on Hiway 14 connecting I-5, Vancouver, Camas, and Washougal to the Scenic Columbia River Gorge.