Editors,
The recent Opinion article by Republicans State Sen. Wilson, Rep. Ley, and Rep. Orcutt (Feb 24, 2026) had at least two good parts: The I-5 Bridge Project needs to cut costs, and that light rail is on the chopping block. However, there were also parts that I would call nonsense and ridiculous.
Nonsense - The 380 percent cost escalation figure is an overly inflated number based on choosing an original bridge cost from 15 years ago. This imaginary number is unrealistic. Current numbers should start with the 2022 estimates we already have, 5 to 7.5 billion, which we know to be quite low. The Interstate Bridge Replacement Project (IBR) has not yet issued revised cost estimates, so the article's new estimates, 12.2 to 17 billion, are derived from other sources that might be biased toward a higher value. Numbers are often chosen for their effect, and I think that is what happened here.
Ridiculous – There is no better word to describe comparing the 8-lane I-5 bridge replacement costs with the planned 2-lane replacement bridge at Hood River/White Salmon (HR/WS). Speaking of real numbers, the highest average weekday vehicle counts for the I-5 bridge are from 2019, pre-COVID. That average was nearly 140,000 vehicles per day. In 2019, the HR/WS bridge averaged about 12,000 vehicles per day. As we often like to say, “there is no comparison!”
Pointing out problems is easy; solving problems is a little more difficult. I would like to know if the elimination of light rail affects federal funding. If federal funding is less, the taxpayer will pay more. FYI - The I-205 Glen Jackson Bridge never had tolls because the federal government paid 92% of bridge costs.
Cutting large project costs will also mean reducing bridge access, the number of interchanges, and infrastructure. That will make people very unhappy. A lengthy public debate or politician’s complaints could cause another 4 years to pass, and the delay will mean the I-5 bridge costs will increase again.
Darrell Anderson
Battle Ground
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