Bob Ortblad says the Terminal 1 Public Market building may become a vacant shell if the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program’s proposed bridge replacement

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

The Port of Vancouver’s dream of a Terminal 1 Public Market will be destroyed by the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program’s (IBR) massive bridge approach. 

Seattle’s Pike Place Market is the heart of the city, with 10 million visitors annually. The Port of Vancouver plans to copy this success and is currently building a $37 million dock to support an additional $47 million investment in the Terminal 1 Public Market. The Market will be 40,000 square feet, costing $2,100 per square foot.  

However, the IBR’s 252-foot-wide bridge approach will loom over the Terminal 1 Market, casting a dark shadow until late morning. The bridge approach will rain down toxic brake and tire dust, causing cancer, asthma, and heart disease.  

The current I-5 freeway is at ground level, and much of the noise is absorbed by earth embankments, vegetation, and buildings. The IBR’s elevated bridge approach with 120,000 daily cars and 20,000 trucks will create a deafening roar that will carry over all buildings unimpeded. The bridge approach traffic will vibrate the road deck, amplifying the noise to a deeper, more resonant sound. Bridge expansion joints directly above the Terminal 1 Market will create a constant stream of car “thumps,” punctuated by much louder truck “thumps”. The steep approach grade will force tuckers to shift gears and rev engines to climb and use loud compression braking on the descent. The steep grade and an elevated approach deck that freezes sooner will require safety grooved concrete pavement. This creates more tire noise. Wind will also extend noise off elevated approaches far into Downtown Vancouver and Fort Vancouver. 

The IBR’s “Noise and Vibration Technical Report” is 704 pages, has thousands of noise measurements and projections, but obfuscates the real noise impact. The report recommends three miles of sound walls costing $6.3 million that do nothing to reduce noise from elevated approaches or bridge expansion joints.  

The Terminal 1 Public Market building may become a vacant shell. Produce vendors and merchants will not want to expose their employees and customers to a freeway roar and thumps, toxic air, and a dark shadow. 

The Port of Vancouver should withdraw its support for the IBR’s bridge design. The IBR fraudulently disqualified an alternative that would be safer, less costly, more rapid to build, more earthquake resilient, and would reduce current freeway noise. An immersed tunnel east of the current bridges will silence Vancouver’s riverfront. It will also reduce air pollution and allow sunshine to cover a riverfront park over the tunnel. An immersed tunnel also allows the preservation of the current historic I-5 bridges that can be repurposed for local traffic. A 14-foot-wide shared-use path can be rebuilt on the east side of the current I-5 northbound bridge. This path will cost a fraction of the IBR’s planned path and provide a much better grade and a wonderful view of the Columbia River and Mount Hood. 

Only trolls live under bridges. 

Bob Ortblad MSCE, MBA 
Seattle