Interstate Bridge Replacement officials brief Battle Ground council on light-rail plan, funding and timelines

Interstate Bridge Replacement Program officials on Feb. 18 told the Battle Ground City Council that the program’s modified locally preferred alternative (MLPA) studies a five-mile corridor across the Columbia River that would replace the 108-year-old I‑5 bridge, add auxiliary lanes and extend light rail from the Expo Center in Portland to Evergreen Street in Vancouver.

“This project is too important to lay dormant,” Interstate Bridge Replacement Program Administrator Greg Johnson told the council, describing the program’s revival in 2019 after the earlier Columbia River Crossing effort stalled. He said the project is currently in a supplemental environmental impact statement phase and that staff received close to 9,800 public comments during the draft comment period.

Why it matters: program leaders said the corridor carries a high proportion of freight (about 11% of daily traffic) and $132 million worth of goods across the bridge each day, and they presented funding progress, schedule risks and trade-offs that would follow any major change to the studied alternative.

Environmental and design status Program staff said the project builds on work done during the Columbia River Crossing and that the current NEPA process is a supplement to an earlier record of decision. The MLPA under study includes a 5-mile corridor, seven interchanges, and a modern river crossing. Transit investments would include an approximately 1.9-mile light-rail extension with three new stations (Hayden Island plus two stops in Vancouver), integrated bus rapid transit (BRT) connections and express bus lanes using shoulder improvements.

Funding, grants and schedule Frank Green, assistant program administrator, outlined funding the program is seeking and assembling. He said the two…