The “Columbia River Crossing” (CRC) is a proposed expansion of the I-5 freeway connecting North Portland to Vancouver, WA over the Columbia River. At a projected cost of $4.2 billion, planning for this project is moving forward as an arena of struggle for communities and environmental groups that oppose the future envisioned for us by the Oregon, Washington & US Departments of Transportation.
Among the issues being debated are the number of lanes of traffic the new bridge will accommodate, public transportation options (including the expansion of light rail and express buses to Vancouver, WA), congestion pricing/car tolls, and the health impact of increased traffic on communities in the I-5 corridor. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that the results of the debate that has been occurring in the Portland City Council or the CRC Task Force will have much impact on the bridge our region has to live with since federal law establishes the Oregon and Washington Departments of Transportation as the “lead agencies” in projects like the CRC affecting interstate highways. All of the proposals analyzed in the CRC’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement assume that traffic (as measured by total miles driven) will grow by at least 40% in the next 20 years- clearly unacceptable if Oregon is to meet its stated goal to reduce greenhouse gases by 75% of their 1990 level by 2050.
This project in not just a local or regional issue, but is a national and international one. Free Trade agreements such as NAFTA need easier, more reliable transportation corridors to efficiently exploit working class people around the world and to fill the fat cats pockets just a little faster. According to the US Department of Transportation (DOT), traffic congestion is responsible for $200 billion in economic losses each year in the US alone. In response, the department initiated the Corridors of the Future Program in order to relieve congestion on major national trade arteries. The DOT selected Interstates 5, 10, 15, 69, 70 and 95 for the program.
In addition to providing funding for specific projects, the DOT has promised to help “accelerate the delivery of the corridor projects” - in other words, shortcut the usually multi-year process involved in major transportation construction. Corridors of the Future are eligible for “high priority” status for speedy environmental review, expedited credit assurance, priority in access to tolling programs, and federal assistance in identifying other funding sources.
The CRC project was conceived primarily as a means to alleviate traffic congestion on the I-5 freeway; as the realities of global warming set in, it’s clear that our transportation future needs a radical realignment of priorities. Any new CRC project needs to prioritize community voices and focus on things that will reduce pollutants, re-green the corridor, and give people more transportation choices - offering numerous health benefits, and creating a more secure future for all of us, and especially our most vulnerable. It’s up to us to fight the bureaucratic pressure pushing the CRC project forward against massive public resistance so that all of the communities of the Pacific Northwest have a secure place in its future.
