Commentary

There’s plenty of time to fix the Interstate Bridge Project Contrary to claims made by OregonDOT and WSDOT officials, the federal government allows considerable flexibility in funding and re-designing, especially shrinking costly and damaging highway widening projects In Cincinnati, the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Project Was downsized 40 percent without causing delays due to […]

What City Observatory did this week Why can’t Oregon DOT tell the truth?  Oregon legislators asked the state transportation department a simple question:  How wide is the proposed $7.5 billion Interstate Bridge Replacement they want to build?  Seems like a simple question for an engineer.  But in testimony submitted to the Legislature, Oregon DOT officials

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) can’t tell the truth about the width of proposed $7.5 billion Interstate Bridge Replacement Project ODOT is more than doubling the width of the bridge from its existing 77 feet to 164 feet. The agency can’t even admit these simple facts, and instead produces intentionally misleading and out of

What City Observatory did this week Why should Oregonians subsidize suburban commuters from another state? Oregon is being asked to pay for half of the cost of widening the I-5 Interstate Bridge. Eighty percent of daily commuters, and two-thirds of all traffic on the bridge are Washington residents. On average, these commuters earn more than

The HB 2098 “-2” amendments  are perhaps the most fiscally irresponsible legislation ever to be considered by the Oregon Legislature.  They constitute an open-ended promise by the Oregon Legislature to pay however much money it costs to build the Interstate Bridge Replacement and Rose Quarter freeway widenings—projects that have experienced multi-billion dollar cost overruns in

Oregon is being asked to pay for half of the cost of widening the I-5 Interstate Bridge.  Eighty percent of daily commuters, and two-thirds of all traffic on the bridge are Washington residents.  On average, these commuters earn more than Portland residents. The 80/20 rule:  When it comes to the I-5 bridge replacement, users will

What City Observatory did this week The case against the Interstate Bridge Project.  We offer 16 reasons why Oregon and Washington lawmakers should question the current plans for the proposed $7.5 billion I-5 freeway expansion project between Portland and Vancouver.  Here’s reason #10 (but click through to read all 16!) 10.  IBR traffic projections have

Here are our 16 top reasons Oregon and Washington need to re-think the proposed Interstate Bridge Replacement Project.  The bloated size of the project and its $7.5 billion cost, and the availability of better alternatives, like a bascule bridge, call for rethinking this project, now. It’s not a bridge, it’s a freeway widening and interchange

What City Observatory did this week IBR’s plan to sabotage the “moveable span” alternative.  The proposed $7.5 billion Portland area freeway widening project is supposedly looking at a moveable span option to avoid illegally impeding water navigation.  But state DOT officials are planning to sabotage the analysis of a moveable span options as part of