Project Overview

The Columbia River Crossing is a long-term, comprehensive solution to address safety and congestion problems on five miles of I-5 from State Route 500 in Vancouver, Washington, to approximately Victory Blvd. in Portland, Oregon. CRC will replace the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River and extend light rail to Vancouver. In July 2008, local project partners selected these elements because they offer the best opportunity to relieve congestion, improve safety and freight mobility and increase travel options on I-5 while meeting community needs.

Design concept for the replacement I-5 bridge.

Purpose and Need

To address the transportation problems on I-5, a combination of bridge, public transit and highway solutions is needed. If we do not move forward with a comprehensive long-term solution now, the problems will only get worse.

This project will address:

Growing travel demand and congestion
Impaired freight movement
Limited public transportation operation, connectivity and reliability
Safety and vulnerability to collisions
Substandard pedestrian and bicycle facilities
Seismic vulnerability

What are the Challenges?

Safety is getting worse.
- About one crash occurs daily. This rate is two times higher than similar highways in Oregon and Washington. Crashes will grow with more congestion.
- Many collisions can be attributed to short on-and off-ramps, inadequate spaces for merging and weaving, and poor sight distances on and near the I-5 bridge.
Traffic congestion at the I-5 bridge currently lasts six hours and is expected to increase to more than seven hours southbound and eight hours northbound by the year 2030.
On-time freight deliveries are compromised by congestion, hampering productivity and efficiency.
Buses traveling I-5 between Vancouver and Portland get stuck in traffic and can become less reliable.
A significant earthquake could cause bending, buckling or collapse of the I-5 bridge itself or lead to soil liquefaction under the bridge.

Current Status

In July 2008, local project partners selected a replacement bridge with light rail to Clark College as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) from five alternatives analyzed in the Draft EIS. The LPA was chosen based on information in the Draft EIS, a recommendation from the 39-member Task Force and public comment. Having an LPA demonstrates regional consensus about continuing project development and refining the design of one alternative.

Since the LPA was chosen, the project has:

Selected the number of structures for the replacement bridge
Selected a replacement bridge design concept
Selected a location for light rail and the bicycle and pedestrian pathway on the replacement bridge
Selected an alignment for the Marine Drive interchange
Refined project designs to reduce overall project cost
Convened two independent expert review panels that validated the CRC’s analysis of travel demand, induced growth and greenhouse gas emissions
Selected a light rail alignment in Vancouver
Provided information to and received recommendations from a Governor-appointed Independent Review Panel
Participated in a collaborative process to address key questions related to Hayden Island interchange, number of lanes on the I-5 bridge and other project elements, resulting in recommendations from the Project Sponsors Council to the governors of Oregon and Washington

Additional analysis of the environmental and community effects of the project will be included in a Final EIS, expected in 2011.