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The I-5 Columbia river replacement bridge just recently got a ton of funding from the WA state legislator, so maybe things are finally moving forward. However I
by runarberg 5y ago
The I-5 Columbia river replacement bridge just recently got a ton of funding from the WA state legislator, so maybe things are finally moving forward. However I guess delaying the project has been bickering on what to actually put on the bridge. E.g. they want to more then double the car lane count, then they also want light rail on there, and potentially even high speed rail. This feels like a classic case of overdesign.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoI do not see how incorporating mass transit is over design for something expected to last 100+ years. Especially for a region that has been adding tens of thousands of people per year for 10+ years, at an increasing pace.
- runarberg 5y agoNeither do I, however WSDOT has not released any details on the project but their renderings indicate they want to widen the freeway to some 10+ lane monstrosity[1]. Meanwhile Cascadia High Speed Rail has ideas about replacing the existing BNSF/Amtrak bridge with a double deck four track + four care lane bridge in addition to the I-5 bridge[2]. This combined makes a ridiculous amount of car lanes and railway tracks, plus a redundant bridge. There must be a better—and cheaper—way to cross this river. 1: https://www.theurbanist.org/2022/02/18/dont-widen-highways-invest-2-billion-in-affordable-housing-instead/#columbia-river-crossing-a-zombie-project-back-from-the-dead https://www.theurbanist.org/2022/02/18/dont-widen-highways-i... 2: https://cascadiahighspeedrail.com/portland-to-seattle/ https://cascadiahighspeedrail.com/portland-to-seattle/