Lawmakers left without updated cost estimates as bridge design and funding questions remain unresolved
Members of the Washington-Oregon Interstate Bridge Replacement Program legislative oversight committee met this week without receiving updated cost estimates or final design decisions for the I-5 Bridge replacement. Rep. John Ley criticized the lack of clarity, noting the project is already estimated at $7.5 billion and remains dependent on unresolved issues such as bridge clearance, transit funding, and overall scope. As costs continue to rise and both states face tighter transportation budgets, lawmakers are weighing difficult choices about the project’s future direction.
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Rep. John Ley issues statement after I-5 Bridge replacement meeting yields few answers
Rep. John Ley criticized the IBR Program for failing to provide updated cost estimates or key design decisions following a recent legislative oversight committee meeting.
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Also read:
- Opinion: ‘If they want light rail, they should be the ones who pay for it’
Clark County Today Editor Ken Vance argues that supporters of light rail tied to the I-5 Bridge replacement should bear the local cost of operating and maintaining the system through a narrowly drawn sub-district. - Opinion: IBR falsely blaming inflation
Joe Cortright argues that inflation explains only a small portion of the IBR project’s cost increases and that rising consultant and staff expenses are the primary drivers. - Letter: The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program’s $141 million bribe can be better spent on sandwich steel-concrete tubes
Bob Ortblad argues that an immersed tunnel using sandwich steel-concrete tubes would be a more cost-effective alternative to the current Interstate Bridge Replacement Program design. - A sub-district vote could be a way to go to pay O&M costs associated with light rail
Clark County Council members heard details on how a voter-approved C-TRAN sub-district could be created to fund long-term operations and maintenance costs for light rail tied to a new Interstate Bridge. - Letter: British Columbia’s new immersed tunnel can solve Interstate Bridge Replacement Program’s $17.7 billion problem
Bob Ortblad argues that an immersed tunnel similar to a project underway in British Columbia could significantly reduce costs and impacts associated with the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program.
This is the most ridiculous process ever. The opinion of the funding public should carry the most weight on this project, as it seems that anyone put in charge of development is incapable of doing the public’s bidding. We’re paying for it, we’re going to use it, it should be built the way we want it. It is beyond me why this is such a difficult thing to grasp. So far, we’re 0 for 2 on the I-5 project. We need people with a spine and some common sense on the team!
This needs to be a simple cost effective usable bridge, not someones ultimate dream creation…simplify and get on with it!
Maybe the clowns should keep talking about it for years to come and keep paying themselves for all the time they waste talking about it and how can they force light rail to be included in the project. Or perhaps they could have built additional plain bridges by now in various areas in the area so that there should have been 4 or 5 crossings by now.