The Washington state Senate Transportation Committee advanced a transportation revenue package Wednesday that includes $450 million toward a new I-5 bridge, which is part of Washington’s and Oregon’s joint Columbia River Crossing project.
Funding would be used to restart the process of designing and building a new bridge and to avoid the $140 million in federal funds that would need to be repaid if Washington and Oregon fail to restart the project.
“This is another concrete step toward getting this project moving while we work with Oregon to design a planning process and determine the details of a new bridge,” Sen. Annette Cleveland (D-Vancouver) said. “This is only a down payment on what a new bridge will cost, of course, but we anticipate funding from other avenues, including our federal and Oregon state partners once we agree on a mutual vision for the new bridge.”
Washington did not pass legislation approving the river crossing project in 2013. This cost the project $850 million in federal transit funds. The funds were re-allocated to other transportation projects.
The bill package moves to the Senate Rules Committee for consideration. The package is in addition to the $17.5 million Gov. Jay Inslee proposed in his budget for fiscal years 2019-20.