Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Portland's at it again


Portland's Mayor Sam Adams has joined forces with others in sending a letter that a new bridge that is going to connect Portland with Vancouver, WA has to be done right or not at all. It is a bit refreshing these days to have elected officials willing, or at least seem willing, to loose billions in federal funds for a project if it will do more harm than good to the communities and constituents they represent.

From an Oregonlive article:


The main source of unity now is a collective opposition to the current plan, a widening of the six-lane bridge to 10 lanes with the ability to widen to 12, a light rail extension, reconstruction of several highway interchanges and tolls that could be higher during rush hour to reduce congestion.

The four officials say they support "a Columbia River Crossing project," but not the solution state highway engineers have said is the only way to solve a major West Coast freight bottleneck.

"We believe that cost, physical and environmental elements of the project as currently proposed impose unacceptable impacts on our communities," the letter says.


Here is more information about the Columbia River Crossing project.

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