Oregon Public Broadcasting

The governors of Oregon and Washington released an independent study Friday on the proposed new I-5 bridge over the Columbia. As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, it suggests the bridge needs to be built sooner rather than later but identified several financial concerns.

Columbia River Crossing

An artist's rendering of the proposed I-5 bridge.

Metro president, David Bragdon is among the leaders responsible for planning the new bridge. He wasn't pleased this spring when yet another study was announced.

But after taking a quick look at the findings he says, the independent group has been both thorough and productive.

David Bragdon: "They're corroborating some of the things we've said. The finance plan is a little shaky, some of the environmental work needs to be done properly. There have been management issues... So, there's good constructive criticism here and I think a lot to move forward with."

The report says the finance plan may be too ambitious and suggests there's not enough consensus about tolls.

It also finds that to save money, the various junctions onto the bridge might be built in years to come -- rather than paying for everything all at once. 

Transportation officials have now been told to come back with a timeline and an construction plan.

Web extra:

Report on I-5 Bridge [PDF]