Sen. Marko Liias and Rep. Jake Fey, Chairs of the Senate and House Transportation Committees, respectively, and Sen. Annette Cleveland and Rep. Sharon Wylie, who represent the 49th Legislative District, issued the following statement regarding the new cost estimate for the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement project:
“As taxpayers and policy makers, we are pleased to be moving into construction for the new I-5 bridge over the Columbia River. Each of us has been working to replace the vulnerable structure for our entire tenure as legislators; this milestone has been decades in the making.
“Delay is not our friend – not financially and not in the risk to those who travel the span. The cheapest bridge is the one we start today. Projects of this magnitude and complexity are hard and we have seen again and again in our state and region that we can do it. The SR 99 tunnel, the SR 520 floating bridge, the multi-phased Gateway Program: Each of these has had challenges that were met head on, and each facility is now serving thousands of drivers each day.
“The I-5 bridge isn’t just a critical connection to those who use it to get to home, work, and play. It plays a critical role in the region’s economic growth. Food in the grocery store, medicines in the pharmacy, goods on store shelves – we wouldn’t have them without a functioning I-5.
“As we embark on this first construction phase, we remain committed to finding solutions to build the full five-mile corridor, and to bringing all of the planned improvements online as soon as possible. It all begins with the building of this first phase. We are grateful to all of the partners who have helped bring us to this point, and to the public who has provided hundreds of thousands of comments and feedback to help shape our plan going forward. Let’s get moving!”
