Columbia River Crossing concept drawing of "deck truss" bridge 25 February 2011
The "Columbia River Crossing" has funding from some mystical source in Oregon, but they made that contingent upon Washington state coming up with matching funds. Their House voted down a transportation package that would have included funding for "their share" of the CRC yesterday. The plan includes a 10.5-cent-a-gallon increase in gas taxes, and lobbyists are doing some arm-twisting in hopes of getting a couple more House members to go along.
If they succeed, it still has to go past the Senate. Since that's controlled by a coalition of Republicans and more or less conservative Democratics, passage there seems unlikely. Of course, they could shave around $1.4 billion from the project by discarding their push to ram light rail from Portland Expo Center into downtown Vancouver, but that would negate the entire purpose of the project - it's basically a light rail project with a car, bus, and truck component.
Clark County voters have made it abundantly clear that they don't want a light rail extension into downtown Vancouver, but Porkland and TriMet have been pushing it for over a decade, and they're determined to shove it through by any means necessary. But unfortunately for them and for the Democrat governors in Washington and Oregon, it seems unlikely to pass the Washington legislature. They may just grant Oregon taxpayers a reprieve.
