Washington State Legislature adjourned at 6:30 last night without approving a tranportation package that would have included $450 million as "their share" of the I-5 Portland-Vancouver light rail project (known in bureau-speak as the "Columbia River Crossing"); effectively killing it, as "Oregon's share" was contingent upon our neighbors to the north's willingness to similarly dun their taxpayers.
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber declared the Columbia River Crossing project dead Saturday evening following the 2013 Washington Legislature's refusal to vote on a transportation funding package.
And he's really upset about it, too; both he and the Democrat governor in Washington issued strongly-worded statements expressing their profound disappointment. Over the past decade, "planners" have blown through over $170 million ($20 million remains unaccounted for) and managed to produce exactly two designs, both of which served primarily to advance the Porkland/TriMet agenda of ramming a light rail line into Vancouver, Washington - despite the fact that Clark County residents have rejected light rail four times in one direct vote and three others on raising funds for operations.
The first design, with clearance of 95 feet, was rejected by the U.S. Coast Guard as an impediment to navigation. Subsequently, they came back with a design eleven feet taller; essentially daring the Coast Guard to reject it. However, in their haste, they neglected to include required information; the USCG was still waiting to receive that when the issue was rendered moot by the refusal of the Washington State Senate coalition to fund the thing.
It's worth reiterating that the insistence upon light rail was the sole reason for such low-clearance designs; the little trains are unable to navigate steeper gradients. In any case, absent Oregon and Washington's "shares", the "federal money" upon which the entire thing hinged goes away. In view of the amounts of money involved, the ineptness and ham-fistedness of the CRC group, and the repeatedly expressed will of Clark County voters, that's probably a good thing.
The Transportation package already signed by Governor Inslee included “$200,000 for a specialized audit to see whether the project had misused public funds” Sen. Benton said in a news release this evening.
“The CRC project officials spent around $170 million dollars without even getting all the necessary permits – and out of that huge sum, they can’t explain where 20 million dollars went. This forensic audit is going to find out. We owe that to the taxpayers,” added Benton.
Perhaps Porkland and TriMet can now be persuaded to abandon their long-cherished dream of ramming light rail down the throats of unwilling Clark County residents. Likely not, but they've certainly cost taxpayers a lot of money in this demonstration of arrogance.
That alone is reason enough for the CRC group to be disbanded, and if a new bridge is to be built at some point it might be a good idea for the states to hire engineers who actually know what they're doing.
