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Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBR) plans to spend up to $17.7 billion to add one more lane for five miles. The IBR promises this will cure congestion, but in every freeway expansion, congestion returns within a year or two.
It is difficult to comprehend the value of $17.7 billion. It could build over 32,000 single-family homes, almost the number in the city of Vancouver and more than the cities of Kirkland and Redmond.
Eight local cities and agencies have approved IBR’s “locally preferred alternative” and plan to spend other people’s money: $2 billion from the federal government and another $2 billion from the Washington and Oregon state governments. Only $1.5 billion in local money will come from tolling, which has locals’ hair on fire. The IBR is fantasizing about another $1 billion from the Federal Transit Administration. The IBR expects our children to pay the $12 billion balance (30-year bonds), and our grandchildren to live with this concrete obscenity for the next 100 years.
An alternative immersed tunnel is less costly, faster to build, and has environmental benefits.
Bob Ortblad MSCE, MBA
Seattle
