Tom Warne Report, 24 August 2012
The Obama administration has announced that the Columbia River Crossing will be included with several other transportation projects to be expedited as part of the “We Can’t Wait” initiative. The announcement did not contain a specific financial commitment but was made public through a joint statement by Washington and Oregon’s governors. They said President Barack Obama’s designation will accelerate the $3.5 billion project to replace the aging I-5 Bridge spans, rebuild interchanges and freeway on both the north and south sides of the Columbia River and expand Portland light rail into Vancouver.
“President Obama’s designation underscores the importance of the Columbia River Crossing project to the thousands of people who use it every day to keep out region’s economy growing,” said Kitzhaber in a release. “It highlights that the project is about more than connecting Vancouver and Portland, but about connecting small and large manufacturers and businesses – from Hillsborough to Los Angeles, Seattle to Vancouver, Canada – that depend on a reliable interstate system to move their goods.”
The Columbia River Crossing project has had other power political show of support, when last March Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the U.S. DOT remains “totally committed” to the Columbia River Crossing. “It’s going to be a model for multi-modal transportation,” LaHood had said. “It’s bi-state, bipartisan … any way you can describe it, it’s a great project.”