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:
- Letter: Reinstate Councilor Belkot!
Camas resident Anna Miller argues Belkot was removed before any written rule required councilors to follow the majority’s voting instructions. - POLL: Do the Clark County Council’s new Rules of Procedure suggest Michelle Belkot’s 2025 removal from the C-TRAN board was handled improperly?
Clark County Today asks readers if new council rules suggest Belkot’s 2025 C-TRAN removal lacked proper authority. - Opinion: Wildfire risk demands a more flexible approach to roadless areas
Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers supports rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule to give local forest managers more flexibility to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk. - Opinion: A school bus, a four-way stop, and the meaning of ‘either’
Doug Dahl explains why the word “either” in state law means cross-traffic at a four-way stop may not be required to stop for a school bus. - Opinion: MAX at 40 – How light rail helped empty Portland’s transit system
O’Toole argues TriMet’s light-rail investment cut bus service, drove fare hikes, and reduced Portland-area transit commuters from 9.6% in 1980 to 3.8% by 2024.
wpDiscuz
