Lars Larson addresses the delay in updated cost projections of the I-5 Bridge replacement project
Lars Larson
The Northwest Nonsense
You wanna bet Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) Administrator Greg Johnson didn’t drop the Interstate Bridge ten-billion-dollar-price-bomb at Portland City Hall this week because the legislature’s plan for a record tax hike got held up?
Only five years ago, Johnson told Oregon and Washington the new I-5 Bridge would cost less than $5 billion. Two years later, his estimate jacked up 50-percent to $7.5 billion.
Standard practice for ODOT … lowball the hell out of a project and tell the buyers – citizens – the bad news when it’s too late to shout “stop.”
Johnson has promised a new cost estimate over and over for the past two years … each time delaying it … like someone who just doesn’t have the guts to deliver bad news.
No one expects the new number to be less than $9 billion … and most, like economist Joe Cortright, predict $10 billion … more than a 100 percent increase in just five years.
I bet if Oregon Democrats had delivered that historic record tax increase they planned last weekend, Johnson would have dropped the news this week.
Instead, he now promises the new estimate later this year or early next year … when he plans to start construction of this already failed project.
They don’t have the money to build it.
The Coast Guard has not given its required approval
Public opposition to funding from freeway tolling remains fierce.
But as long as he hides the bad news, Greg Johnson can keep cashing the checks from his six figure salary.
Also read:
- 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. - Opinion: Bikes in crosswalks
Doug Dahl explains how Washington law treats bicycles as both vehicles and pedestrians, depending on where and how they are being ridden.
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