Sam Churchill says either kill the I-5 Bridge replacement project or fix it

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 Interstate Bridge Replacement is a $14 billion boondoggle that we’re giving our kids. Kill it or fix it.

• The elevated bridge will bring the homeless to Vancouver who WILL live under the bridge.
• They will smash the elevators and sleep in them at night. The elevators over the Union Station tracks downtown Portland haven’t worked in 3 years. I should know. I used to live there.
• You can’t get on I-5 South directly from the Island. Instead you have to go over an adjacent (new) bridge to the East, and travel a mile through two traffic circles to get on the freeway. That lack of direct access will kill one of the largest business on the Island, the Manheim Auto Auction. Their large vehicle trailers will find the traffic circles and the small bridge impossible to navigate.
• The $4 toll will kill the Hayden Island Mall. Kills Manheim and a dozen related auto businesses. Attracts homeless tent dwellers to Vancouver. A non-working elevator will make pedestrian and bike access all but impossible.

It’s an inexcusable, odious design that destroys everything it touches. It does NOT address congestion.

It’s as hard to make a ugly bridge as a beautiful telephone pole. But here we are.

We MUST build a new bridge. That’s a given.

We need a bridge that addresses NEEDS. A cost/effective design. Not “business” as usual for the DOTs. BTW, the future of transportation is autonomy. Ask your 12 year old.

They’re paying for it.

1. Kill bridge light rail. Too costly. Lacks an economic passenger base.

2. Free autonomous shuttles (during commutes) deliver Vancouver residents to the Expo or Hayden Island MAX terminus.

3. Hayden Island is the Gateway to Oregon, but we’re not getting one dime for tourist amenities or civic improvement.

4. An immersed tube tunnel MIGHT be a better solution. I wouldn’t know. I’m not an engineer. But it could enable a BEACH on Jantzen Beach.

5. Nobody likes a lift. But when’s the last time a SHIP stopped you? They’re scheduled to pass mostly at night.

7. The 2nd smaller bridge WILL kill Manheim and associated auto businesses

This is the worst thing that ever happened to the region. Is IBR the legacy we want to leave our kids?

Sam Churchil
Hayden Island resident
https://www.facebook.com/sam.churchill