Obama's initiative aims to fast-track CRC permitting process
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VANCOUVER, Wash. – Local and state leaders say President Barack Obama's move to put the Columbia River Crossing on the short list of national projects will help move the project forward, but it doesn't mean the bridge will get done faster than expected.
Project leaders are hoping to start building the $3.5 billion replacement for the aging Interstate 5 Bridge that links Oregon and Washington by 2014.
But by including the CRC in his "We Can't Wait" initiative, the president is lighting a fire under federal agencies to speed up the federal permitting and review process to make it more efficient, more effective and more accountable.
The kinds of permitting and review processes that will be fast-tracked are when other agencies give their input on bridge plans. For example, when the U.S. Coast Guard told bridge builders the new bridge wasn’t the right height last spring.
"We submit our application then at the end of the year to the Coast Guard. They then have the clock ticking on the president's initiative to turn around their response to the permit application. That's when they have to hustle up and get their work done," said Washington Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond. "One of the things that's most critical is to make the financial decisions that gets us the federal transit grant, get tolling started so we have enough money to start with the bridge and landing portion, which is the first stage in getting the bridge replaced."
But the declaration doesn't come with any specific financial commitment and that's still the problem: How to pay for this mega-project.
"A third of it is going to come from our federal partners, a third of it is going to come from the people who use the bridge and a third of it is going to come from the states," said Patricia McCaig, liaison for Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. "It's a pretty nice distribution of a way to spread the cost of investing in something that benefits both states, the entire West Coast, and, in fact, the nation, which is why it's a project of national significance."
So legislators in Oregon and Washington still need to work out how to come up with roughly $450 million from each side. Federal money now designated for the bridge will be available until 2014. After that the states may not have access to it.
The president did free up transportation money that had not been spent on other projects. The money comes to about $4 million for Washington and less than a million for Oregon, which will not be much help with a project like this.
Obama's declaration also included another project for the state of Washington that aims to provide faster train service on the southbound route from Seattle to Portland. The $89 million Point Defiance Bypass project will reroute passenger trains to another existing rail line to avoid conflict with rail freight traffic. The date for finalized permitting and review decisions would be by the end of this year.
Two other projects in North Dakota and Maine are also being expedited under the president's declaration.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"get tolling started so we have enough money to start with the bridge and landing portion,"
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They're going to put in tolls before the bridge is even started.....oh boy, and you know they'll put tolls on the Gen Jackson as well to make it "fair" and not plug up 205 with all those tax dodgers...
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If there's one project I'm in favor of is this bridge, I REALLY hope they write it down somewhere that the tolls will go away when the bridge is paid for, but they probably won't, they'll become very dependent on the money.
Much as I dislike giving Obama kudos, in this case I must. If left to Portland, Vancouver, and local politicians the bridge will never be built. That is unless we can cross on a bridge of words, indecision, and bickering.
"a third of it is going to come from the people who use the bridge"
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I was under the impression that they couldn't put tolls on an Interstate bridge...or it Kitzhaber talking about something else?
Is the tax burden going to be shared equally by Oregon and Washington State?
Our liberal leaders are already throwing away 50 Million Dollars per mile on light rail trains that the majority of tax payers do not want. If they want a bridge they will bend you over, and shove their bridge idea any where they please. And the new bridge, it WILL HAVE the same number of THROUGH LANES that we already have. 3 each way, so, why bother building a new bridge that will not handle any more cars?
@last boyscout Maybe we could get bush to pay back some of the money he spent on Fake wars....
Or dick to pay back the kick backs his KBR boys stole...
Or is that like every other republican promise.
A pipe dream....
 @last boyscout 'Our liberal leaders.'?  I take it you're a Republitard.
 @BayouBoy If facts trouble you, you might consider seeking help.
Just wait, it'll cost like $10 billion when they are done designing the project...there's so many things they gotta do to get this thing going its not even silly. Â Permitting, environmental studies, traffic studies, seismic studies, land use studies, and making the bridge the right height. Â What a giant mess, we can't suddenly do this stuff faster!?
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The major issue would be the funding, which cannot come out of thin air. Â Both Oregon and Washington states are debt burdened and don't have any extra funds to spare. Â Is it worth slashing the environmental and social funds to get this going? Â What about cutting school budgets? Â Its gotta come from somewhere...should've not gone to war, and then we would've had the skrill!
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@portlandborn83 Wow just like the fake war we fought in Iraq Oh Wait we are still there....
 @portlandborn83 Well, they could legalize marijuana and use those funds. I do like your idea though of cutting the environmental funds, to a certain degree, but no way in hell should they cut from school budgets. They're strapped enough as it is.
Isn't this what he should've been doing 4 years ago?
What a waste of money.
@sortbait Well we tried just giving it to corporations but well look how that turned out....
Hey I know why don't we actually create jobs....
 @sortbait May I suggest swimming across the Columbia instead of utilizing the bridge?
@sortbait Yeah, we should give that money to corporations so they can continue to NOT create jos in this country.
Fast trains between Seattle and Portland... like real trains, efficient trains , that go more than 100mph and don't stop at every station in between ... Union station Portland to King Street Seattle in under 2 hours... like a real industrial country...........  Oh forget that, we'll stick a remote control car on mars.
 @Dave Would you rather pay $100 for a high speed rail ticket that gets you to Seattle in two hours, or $20 for bolt bus that get you there in 3 1/4?  I'm thinking, for the majority of consumers, the choice is the latter. Â
 @UtterReality If they can implement a solution that gets me from Union Station Portland to King street station Seattle in UNDER 2 hour consistently I'll happily pay $100.
If it's 3 + hours I'll drive or fly.  If it's efficient and useful people will be happy to use it. If it's as slow and useless as the MAX then it's only good for photo opportunities for selling Portland to hipsters, and the really commuters will dream of the days when they had buses that did the same journey in half the time.  Just like the light rail to Seatac airport, the old bus that ran from downtown was faster, the new light rail is annoying and I'll take a cab.
 @UtterReality Run the bolt bus, up against a fast efficient train and let the people choose. Don't pull a Trimet and remove the buses and force the people onto the MAX, let the people choose, if you have an efficient solution the people will automatically choose. Removing a good solution and replacing it with a slow inefficient PRETTY solution isn't moving forward.