By Greg Johnson, Contributing Author
When it opened in 1917, the Interstate Bridge, connecting Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, Wash. over the Columbia River, was a multimodal engineering marvel. It was foreword thinking for its time: A trolley line and walking paths co-existed with horses and the first wave of motorized vehicles.
The bridge’s original multimodal purpose evolved in the ensuing decades as vehicle travel became the default means of commuting and transporting goods. First, the rail lines were paved over, and then, in 1958, a second span was built across the river adjacent to the first span. It became the thoroughfare for Interstate 5.
By then, the modern “car culture” of the mid-20th century made any other form of getting around seem old-fashioned.
Today, with the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program, we can harken back to the sensibilities of bridge’s original planners and create a modern, seismically resilient multimodal transportation facility with improvements to the 5-mile corridor.
The IBR is a bi-state program led by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), and it is collaborating with regional and federal partner agencies to offer truly interconnected options for travelers of all abilities and economic situations.
Every time I walk across the bridge, I see the plaques that commemorate what this bridge was intended to be, and I am reminded of the great foresight of those original leaders.
We want the legacy of this bridge to be about connections: better, easier and more inclusive. My hope is that a century from now people will look back and marvel at how forward-thinking we were.
Multimodal Means More Options
When I hear folks say that this program is just a highway expansion, I take it personally. We’ve been committed to multimodal transportation from the beginning. It is foundational to the program’s purpose and need, but that’s not the only reason.
Early on, through vigorous engagement efforts with our community and through coordination with our regional agency partners, we achieved a consensus that a new bridge had to be about more than just a crossing for cars and trucks.
About a third of the project funding will be dedicated to elements beyond car and truck transportation to make this a truly multimodal program for all users and ways of getting around. If travelers choose to use their car to commute or run an errand, we're going to accommodate that. If people want to walk, bike, roll or catch transit – whether by express bus or light rail – they’ll have that choice.
Accessibility
In the four years since I started with the IBR, I've crossed the current Interstate Bridge many times. I've walked it, I've looked at it and I’ve seen how it's used. When I think about its accessibility the words that come to mind are “limited,” “confusing” and “unfriendly.”
Though it was state of the art when it was built, the bridge’s designers could not have envisioned the 18-wheelers that now carry $132 million worth of goods across it every day. They had no idea that the trolley crossing the river would one day become high-capacity light rail. But now that “trolley” will be connecting and achieving so much more, and the impacts will be far-reaching.
You can see the potential on the Oregon side with Hayden Island in North Portland. You see the growth in Washington on Vancouver’s waterfront and its plans for a revitalized downtown.
Whether for commuting to work or crossing for leisure, all of those things will be a part of the thoughtful process of how this bridge gets designed, built and accessed.
Focusing on Equity
It’s no secret that earlier transportation projects did not fairly treat some communities and cultures. But now we have so many leaders – from the President of the United States and the U.S. Secretary of Transportation on down – emphasizing that new infrastructure projects must incorporate equitable processes and outcomes.
IBR is a balanced program that will not only build a bridge but will do it in a way that is reflective of the values of an entire region.
Leading this effort and making this program an example of equity has been one of the joys of my career. We’re supporting this at all levels, from program leadership and throughout the team, and continue to look at ways we can improve our approach.
We also are ensuring Disadvantaged Business Enterprises are front and center in our procurement practices. We engage with communities that represent more than 11 different written or spoken languages in this area.
Simply put, we are working to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate in what this program will become, particularly segments of our regional population we have identified as “equity priority” communities: BIPOC, people with disabilities, communities with limited English proficiency, persons with lower income, houseless individuals and families, immigrants and refugees, young people and older adults.
Building for a Cleaner Climate
From the beginning, IBR has focused on equity and climate, two pillars for this program.
We’ve done this by asking ourselves some important questions, like ‘How can we use concrete that is more environmentally friendly by substituting different long-lasting materials for traditional elements?’ ‘How can we use drought-resistant trees and native plants in our green areas to absorb more carbon in the future?’ and ‘How can we incorporate renewable energy technology into the design to offset emissions from bridge operations?’
We recognize that freeways were often built through less affluent neighborhoods and stop-and-go traffic leads to adverse health impacts on these communities due to fossil fuel emissions.
Our goal is to make traffic flow smoother and safer while reducing emissions from idling vehicles, playing a part in reducing health impacts in the region and in these neighborhoods.
We will provide more climate-friendly travel options and more attractive options that can improve personal health, combined with variable priced tolling, to help take trips off the freeway and improve travel reliability.
Learning From the Past
A wise person once told me that to build a project that reflects the spirit of an area, you must first understand its culture and history.
There is so much to consider in this region to inform our perspective: the Native American tribes that inhabited this region for millennia, the creation of Fort Vancouver in the early 1800s, the internment of Japanese American citizens during World War II, the migration of Black Portlanders to Vanport – a city east of the existing bridge on the Columbia River constructed during the war to house shipyard workers, only to be tragically wiped out by a flood in 1948. Then came the displacement of Black community members in Portland to make way for I-5, a hospital expansion and the construction of Memorial Coliseum.
All those cultural elements have been taken into consideration, understood and acknowledged. They are part of a thorough and thoughtful process.
Each month, we meet with representatives from tribal governments who have lived, worked and traveled in this area. We discuss how to be respectful of the traditions, cultural resources and environmental sensitivities around building a mega project over a river with so much historical importance.
We have regular meetings with members of our Equity Advisory Group, Community Advisory Group and our Community Benefits Advisory Group, along with intentional community engagement with equity priority communities within the region.
Our Approach
Humans have been building bridges forever because we’ve always been a species on the move. The replacement of this 107-year-old, earthquake vulnerable bridge on the interstate is long overdue.
While there are probably simpler ways to get a bridge built, in the Pacific Northwest we want things done right. We must understand context and ask ourselves, ‘What will it take to make this bridge accessible to folks with different needs for getting around?’
As we get closer to breaking ground, it’s satisfying to see the region coalescing around the notion that this program’s role is to not just create new infrastructure, but also make it welcoming for everyone.
With that as our guiding light, the solutions we come up with will ensure that, no matter how they choose to travel, people will cross this river in 100 years and beyond in ways we are familiar with now, and those that we have yet to even imagine. RB
Greg Johnson is the program administrator for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program.
