Rep. John Ley, of Washington’s 18th Legislative District, recently wrote a letter to US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy requesting denial of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the $15 billion Interstate Bridge replacement project.
The letter, dated May 26, followed calls from Washington Senator Patty Murray for an immediate Record of Decision on the project. Carley Francis, the interim project administrator for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, has said on multiple occasions that she would like a ROD to be issued July 1.
“This project has become a textbook example of unchecked scope creep, fiscal irresponsibility, and mission failure – precisely the kind of proposal that requires firm federal oversight to protect American taxpayers,’’ Ley wrote in his letter to Duffy. “Alternatively, you could rescind the two federal grants. Another option would be to require an updated Benefit-Cost Analysis, now that the program has significantly altered the project.’’
Ley requested a face-to-face meeting with Duffy. Ley told Clark County Today Thursday that he had not heard back from Duffy or his representatives.
“I’d fly back in a heartbeat, even if I only got to talk to his senior person and it wasn’t him, just to lay out the facts and the issues,’’ Ley said Thursday.
