NEIGHBORS FOR A BETTER CROSSING IS AN OREGON NON-PROFIT
HOW TO SAY "NO!"
The deadline for filing a comment with the IBR has passed, however it’s just the beginning of an effort to let our elected officials know we are opposed to the “Monster Bridge” designs proposed by the IBR project!
Let our elected officials know we don’t want the IBR bridge design:
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek → Comment Form
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson → [email protected]
Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle & City Council → [email protected]
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson → Comment Form
Tell them in plain English:
- The $7-12 billion cost is outrageous, while doing little to solve I-5 traffic congestion at the I-5 bridge.
- The massive bridge will inevitably experience massive cost overruns, causing a redirection of funding meant for social programs.
- Bridge tolls will impose a heavy and daily financial burden on all adjacent communities.
- IBR’s fixed-spans offer only 116 feet of vertical clearance above water, a full 62 ft less than today’s drawbridge which will significantly restrict larger commercial vessels from using the Columbia River to support upstream communities.
- The 175 ft bridge height will be an eyesore that will detract from the current scenic beauty of the crossing.
- Per the committee, IBR bridge plans will not be engineered to withstand a major Cascade Seduction Zone earthquake! Scientists are currently predicting there is about a 37% chance that a mega-thrust earthquake in this fault zone will occur in the next 50 years.
- The IBR is an area where ground liquefaction is “expected” during a major earthquake. Liquefaction is a major threat to any bridge.
- The Delta Park 30ft high 1/4 mile corkscrew bike & pedestrian access ramp, is too long & steep for the general public.
- At 100ft above ground, the Vancouver transit station will be a long reach as elevator outages do happen.
- At 30ft above ground, the Hayden Island transit station will also be a long reach subject to periodic elevator outages.
- The 18-lane interchange planned for Hayden Island will create a very wide ugly swath of multiple pavement lanes across prime retail property, and a navigational nightmare for the visiting public and islanders.
- The bridge’s 15-year construction period will create a huge loss of quality of life, income, & property values for Hayden Island and adjacent communities.
- Insist on an additional 120 days for public review & comment, given IBR’s refusal to release full bridge information.
- An “Independent Engineering Commission” should investigate & evaluate the option of more suitable, far less costly, and considerably more environmentally friendly “Immersed Tunnel!” If it was selected for a similar project in Vancouver BC, then why not here?
Here’s some concerns by The Hayden Island Neighborhood Network (HINooN) that you can use in your comments: