Date:
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Contact:
Danielle Cogan, CRC Communications Manager, 360-816-8857
Carley Francis, CRC Public Information Officer, 360-816-8869
VANCOUVER – As a result of the RTC Board’s vote Tuesday, the Columbia River Crossing project’s six partner agencies have selected a replacement I-5 bridge and light rail extension to Clark College as the project’s Locally Preferred Alternative.
The selection of an LPA represents regional consensus on a comprehensive bridge, transit and highway solution for problems on I-5 between Vancouver and Portland. The project will work closely with its partners and the public to address LPA-related board and council recommendations in the next phase of project development.
Before their respective votes throughout the month of July, the RTC Board, Metro Council, TriMet Board, Portland City Council, C-TRAN Board and Vancouver City Council considered the recommendation by the project’s 39-member Task Force; more than 1,600 public comments; and the technical analysis in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
“The decisions of our project sponsors, the recommendations from the community and the findings in the Draft EIS show the replacement I-5 bridge and light rail to Clark College have the best potential to improve freight mobility, relieve congestion, improve safety for travelers and provide real travel choices while serving the public’s needs,” said Don Wagner, Regional Administrator for Washington State Department of Transportation, Southwest Region.
What’s next?
Before a final design can be developed, key decisions will be made on project elements, including: financing and tolling, number of auxiliary lanes and design of the I-5 bridge, pedestrian and bicycle pathway, high capacity transit alignment on Hayden Island and Vancouver, sustainability plan and mitigation plan. An analysis of the environmental and community effects of the LPA and other project elements will be included in a Final EIS, expected in fall 2009.
Ongoing public input on these elements will be critical to the project development process.
CRC is a bi-state project to reduce congestion, enhance freight mobility and improve safety on I-5 between SR 500 in Vancouver and Victory Boulevard in Portland. To meet its goals, the project seeks to add light rail across the Columbia River, add merging and weaving lanes between interchanges, rebuild seven interchanges, enhance the bicycle and pedestrian path between the two cities and make the I-5 crossing seismically sound.
CRC is sponsored by the Oregon Department of Transportation, Washington State Department of Transportation, Metro Council, Regional Transportation Council, TriMet, C-TRAN, City of Portland and City of Vancouver. Federal oversight is provided by the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.
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