An Associated Press story goes into an issue the Oregonian as studiously ignored – no one wants to pay for the Columbia River crossing. The article, which has appeared in the Seattle PI and on the KATU site includes skeptical remarks from Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio:
“I would say that there is a very, very, very, very grim prospect for transportation investment with these people in charge and Obama in the White House, since he won’t stand up to them,” DeFazio told The Associated Press.
He said Republicans want to cut current transportation spending by about a third, leaving little room, if any, for new projects.
Our friend and correspondent Joe Cortright is also quoted:
“It strikes me as very interesting that nobody has appropriated the first dollar for actual construction,” Cortright said. “At some point, you have to ask: Will there be money to build it?”
12 responses to “CRC Victim of Fiscal Austerity?”
Alright, Rep. Defazio, has commented about his bipartisan trip to France (with Chr. John Mica) to observe the $800 million Milau Viaduct, as a comparison to the CRC. He has commented that the CRC is probably way too expensive. The CRC would do virtually nothing for voters of his district, other than a statewide boost if the CRC were to actually solve delivery problems affecting Portland businesses (there are other ways), or increase regional economic development. I suppose out of work construction workers in SW Oregon would flock here….at a chance to get a job.
So…why is he making this statement?
There are rumors that utility re-location for light capacity rail has started in Vancouver.
See: http://couv.com/featured/breaking-ground
Thanks
JK
They might want to save their money:
http://www.infrastructurist.com/2011/08/08/have-we-seen-the-last-of-the-federal-gas-tax/
It sounds like funding might be an issue.
Oh Come On , in a few months the Dems will re-take Congress , and Speaker Pelosi will send us plenty of dough. And as The Pres has already told Defaz , we remember who did not support us Pete.
Chris I Says:
They might want to save their money:
True, just about any mode of transit is going to be financially challenged in coming years. Except horses, maybe. Their cost is pretty much always the same.
Sounds like a job for the Common Sense Alternative.
Id say that there is plenty of water and grass for the horses, but in some areas even that is in question….
Time to strap on some shoedebakers and hoof it!
Horses have the obnoxious habit, though, of cr*pping everywhere. Other than that, they make excellent vehicles for urban transportation.
I keep saying — build a new “no-frills” freeway-only bridge, keep the existing bridges for arterial traffic and transit, and most of the project could be paid for with fairly modest bridge tolls. And we could break ground on it next year.
Yep, it should be a bridge replacement or retrofit, not a gigantic freeway interchange project.
Doug,
I tend to agree with you, but to be fair, they would need to go through the EIS and other engineering planning before breaking ground. This would take more than a year.
If we can shave a couple of billion dollars off the project to create something smaller that can actually be paid for, it’s worth a new EIS. And how long will it take to break ground on a project they can’t fund?