PortCover Street Bridge copy.jpg
(Image courtesy of Will Macht)
By Will Macht
Multimodal transportation arteries connecting the two largest cities on the largest river in the West already suffer congestive "heart failure." Recently, scientists increased earthquake risk projections and likelihood that the 1917 Interstate and 1908 BNSF Bridges could collapse, blocking road, rail and ship commerce. Such an arterial "heart attack" would cripple the economy, divide Oregon and Washington, strand residents and leave thousands jobless.
We put over a decade and $200 million into the ill-fated Columbia River Crossing project, the massive bridge with a light rail line attached. It could not solve endemic congestion, however, because its source, four arteries on each side of the Columbia River (Martin Luther King Boulevard, I-5, Interstate Avenue and Marine Drive in Oregon; SR-14, SR-500, I-5, Fruit Valley/Mill Plain in Washington) would still converge to cross a single bridge. Neither could CRC ease rail or ship congestion.
Three times as long as the current bridge, at a cost of $3 billion to $4 billion and taking up to seven years to build while saving motorists only minutes, we cannot afford the wait and cost to establish functional capacity across the Columbia. We urgently need to preserve what we have. Our systemic response should:
Seismically retrofit the I-5 bridge. This should eliminate most delays, because the departments of transportation of both states already have authority and responsibility to repair the bridges. Earlier seismic retrofit estimates were $88 million to $190 million, less than the $200 million already spent on process.
Fund retrofits and a Portland-Vancouver fareless corridor with rush-hour transponder tolling. Congestion pricing reduces demand, while fareless transit increases supply and achieves social equity.
Open the northbound HOV lane that inefficiently uses lane capacity and extends congestion during evenings hours, when carpools are more problematic to arrange.
Seismically retrofit the BNSF bridge, the West Coast mainline whose collapse would halt all rail service and whose debris would block Columbia River shipping.
Replace the 200-foot-long BNSF north shore swing-span with a 350-foot-lift span aligned with the 450-foot-long center high span of the I-5 Bridge. Misalignment of navigation spans causes bridge lifts. Barges must turn rapidly north to align with the narrow swing-span; it's dangerous, cannot be used in high wind, water or current periods and puts both bridges at risk of catastrophic losses.
Build PortCouver Street Bridge, a western twin to the BNSF bridge, connecting Portway/Mill Plain in Vancouver, across Hayden Island and Portland Harbor to the Marine Drive/North Portland Road intersection. This twin connects existing arterials; provides a second crossing; diverts truck traffic between Portland and Vancouver ports; and locally connects downtown Vancouver, its massive new Columbia Waterfront development, Hayden Island and the Expo Center's light rail. Adjacent to Vancouver's Amtrak Station, a PortCouver Fareless Express could connect to Portland's Union Station, as a forerunner of later commuter rail that could equal the current 15-minute travel of Amtrak's Cascades. The river there is 500 feet narrower. Previous estimates for a low, twin bridge were scaled to about $90 million, and across Portland Harbor about $38 million.
A systemic response to an expected earthquake and current congestion:
--Provides two crossings for far less cost than the single CRC, in a shorter time.
--Opens a second arterial corridor to disperse freight and local traffic.
--Stimulates mixed-use, transit-oriented development on over 2,300 acres.
--Improves road, rail and ship navigation safety and redundant homeland security.
--Directly connects the Ports of Portland and Vancouver and other industrial areas.
--Opens highway, rail, marine and Port financing options.
Century-old rail and road bridges need seismic upgrades to withstand an expected tercentenary earthquake. They will augment road, rail and ship circulation and provide fail-safe backups in the event of emergency.
It's an election year for governors, senators, congressmen and local officials in both states. Why have they not addressed this urgent regional problem?
Will Macht is a professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University.