Sen. Annette Cleveland (D-Vancouver) released the following statement on the Move Ahead Washington transportation revenue package proposed Tuesday.
“This transportation package invests boldly in the solution I have long worked toward with my colleagues, and that we here at home have all been waiting for to address our region’s critical and longstanding transportation needs. I am pleased the critical need for a replacement I-5 bridge is reflected in this package.
“The differences an I-5 replacement bridge will make cannot be overstated. The new bridge will shatter the automotive and economic gridlock that has shackled our communities for decades.
“We will be able to say goodbye to a drawbridge that constantly halts traffic, stalls freight, and invites collisions. In its place, commuters will gain multiple transportation choices to ease the multiple hours of daily congestion, and freight will be able to move more reliably.
“Our outmoded, dilapidated spans will be replaced by architecture designed to withstand earthquakes and keep people safe during our increasingly volatile storms.
“The economic benefits will reverberate throughout our communities, launching waves of growth with both the new jobs this project will create and the many indirect jobs that will also result. This will ensure future prosperity for our community in the same way the existing bridges invigorated our region a century ago.
“Our investment in this improved corridor will bring more and better opportunities for the generations who follow us, just as our ancestors’ investments improved life for the generations who followed them.
“The progress and hard work to replace our over-100-year-old bridge is furthered by this strong commitment reflected in the Move Ahead Washington transportation funding package.
“Ten years ago, our state took a crippling step backward by halting plans for a new bridge. Today we take a monumental step forward.
“I am encouraged by the promise of a vibrant future for everyone in our region and up and down the north-south I-5 corridor with replacement of the I-5 bridge.”
