The Oregonian reports on a survey by Riley Research testing attitudes about the Columbia River Crossing. The survey found broad support for a new bridge – but didn’t ask about costs. That’s a little like asking “would you like a world class education system?” without asking about the costs involved. The interesting news however is…

We’ve featured the critical insights of Joe Cortright here extensively. Now local economist Eric Hovee weighs in with comments submitted to the Columbia River Crossing project record. Some of his points (my paraphrasing) include: Look at the whole I-5 Corridor from Woodland to Wilsonville, and examine the impacts on connecting corridors as well. Evaluate added…

Economist Joe Cortright has prepared a memo to local leaders on the financial risks (PDF, 51K) of the Columbia River Crossing project. Beyond fundamental questions like where the local match is going to come from, the project may require an unprecedented amount of debt. But perhaps scariest is the constraints that may be created by…

I testified early and then had to leave the hearing, but you can read the Oregonian coverage here. It appears that the compromise constructed by President David Bragdon held. It would require significant independent analysis (yeah!) and change the governance structure to provide much more local control.

The Oregonian is reporting that that Metro Councilors Liberty, Collette and Hosticka are set to introduce a resolution calling for tolling the I-5 Columbia Crossing before before building a new bridge. “That would give us the information we don’t have right now, which is how would people react to having to pay for the project?”…