Joe Cortright, an economist with Impresa Inc. and a noted critic of the Columbia River Crossing project, sent the letter below to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners before their vote today on an anti CRC resolution: Today, the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners is considering a resolution to oppose the Columbia River Crossing. Attached … Read more
John Ludlow, Chair of Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. A draft resolution that is expected to be voted on by the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners on Thursday could make them the first government body to take a position against the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project. The draft resolution has been published to the Board’s … Read more
Bike Walk Vote board member Lisa Marie White speaks at the start of an anti-CRC event held Friday night in Portland.(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland) There was plenty of evidence in Portland over the weekend of the growing movement to stop the Columbia River Crossing project. On Friday, non-profit political action committee Bike Walk Vote hosted … Read more
CRC? Never heard of it.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) Controversy and opposition has dogged the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project for many years. That controversy — along with a daunting price tag estimated at $4 billion — has made it extremely difficult for politicians to vote in support of funding the five-mile freeway widening and interchange … Read more
On NE Going and 7th Ave.(Photos @ J. Maus/BikePortland Could this be the moment where activists finally build a lasting, high-visibility opposition to the Columbia River Crossing mega-project? For years now there’s been a deafening silence when it comes to organized opposition to the estimated $3.5 billion project that seeks to expand five miles of … Read more
U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler wants the CRC to go back to the drawing board.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) The Columbian just reported a whopper of a story about the Columbia River Crossing project: It’s time to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge … Read more
That’s OK. We didn’t need that. As Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project backers and project staff face mounting pressure to find funding for their $3.6 billion (with a “b”) plan to widen I-5 for several miles between Oregon and Washington, build parking structures, and replace the existing highway bridge — a phasing strategy could jeopardize … Read more
The already controversial $3.6 billion Columbia River Crossing mega-project was slapped with two new lawsuits yesterday; one from environmental advocacy groups and the other from a 200-employee business. A trio of regional non-profits — the Coalition for a Livable Future, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, and Northwest Environmental Defense Center — filed a federal lawsuit under … Read more
Press release below: DEEPLY FLAWED PROCESS LEADS TO FEDERAL LITIGATION OVER CRC MEGA-PROJECT Portland, OR – Today, three groups – Coalition for a Livable Future, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, and Northwest Environmental Defense Center – are filing litigation challenging the Columbia River Crossing Mega-Project. The organizations are joining together to sue the federal agencies responsible … Read more
“With the Columbia River Crossing increasingly looking like the Mount Hood Freeway of this year’s mayoral race…”Jack Roberts in The Oregonian The recent spate of bad news for the Columbia River Crossing Project — which was documented in detail on the Blue Oregon blog last week — reached new heights today. In a guest column … Read more
Artists rendering.(Graphic: CRC) Columbia River Crossing project staff announced today that they’ve awarded a $4.22 million contract to begin “pre-construction” of the estimated $3.5 billion project. The contract will go to a Washington-based firm (Max J Kuney Company). In a press release, the CRC project said the firm will, “conduct a construction techniques test project … Read more
I want the new freeway to be this wide! U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has some explaining to do. LaHood, who famously stood on a tabletop and thanked bike advocates for their hard work at the 2010 National Bike Summit and later posted on his blog that, “This is the end of favoring … Read more
Comment of the Week: We need more public restrooms downtown