PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Metro, the government and planning body for the three-county Portland region, has endorsed a new $4.2 billion Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.
     
The Metro Council voted 5-2 for a new six-lane toll bridge that features a light-rail extension to Vancouver, Wash. But councilors attached a list of concerns to be addressed by state and local planning agencies as the bridge moves closer to reality in the coming year.
     
State highway planners have called for a 12-lane span, but there are concerns that such a high-capacity bridge would fuel growth and undercut the region's goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
     
An advisory task force, the Portland City Council and other agencies have all limited their endorsement to three "through lanes" in each direction.
     
Metro was the fifth of six agencies to vote on the project this month. The Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council will be the last when it votes next week.
     
The U.S. Department of Transportation has identified the congested I-5 bridge as a high-priority problem that thwarts West Coast freight, and Councilor Rex Burkholder said the council bears responsibility for a traffic bottleneck that's a national priority.
     
"No one really wants to believe that we have to go ask this kind of contribution from our citizens to replace something that's this expensive," he said, adding: "This is a hard thing to do, and it's the right thing to do."
     
Councilors, however, said at least three conditions must be met before a new bridge is attempted:
     
- Charge tolls to cross the current bridge as soon as possible; consider tolling the Interstate 205 Glenn Jackson bridge, as well, to raise money for projects on both highways.
    
- Analyze the potential greenhouse gas emissions and growth in driving that could result from the project.
    
- Aesthetics should be a consideration. Current bridge designs call for a concrete slab bridge.
     
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)