Greg Johnson talks funding, plans for the new Interstate Bridge

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- After years of planning - and a failed attempt to get it done more than a decade ago - it looks like a new Interstate Bridge between Vancouver and Portland will finally get built.

Recently, the feds approved a $1.5 billion grant to help fund the $6 billion project. With $1 billion commitments each from the states of Washington and Oregon, the project is about halfway there financially. The new bridge will replace the century-old I-5 Bridge, which is outdated and would not survive a major earthquake.

On this week's Eye on Northwest Politics, administrator Greg Johnson - the man in charge of the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program - disclosed how close they actually are to making the new bridge a reality.

"We have several key milestones that we still have to meet and those are coming very quickly," he said. "This fall, we will be releasing the draft supplemental environmental impact statement for public comment. And that is a major step in getting this project moving forward. And we look to finalize the last of the environmental steps next summer, getting a federal what is called a record of decision, which says you have a project you can spend federal dollars on, and that signals that we will be ready to break ground late 2025.

Aside from the state and federal financial commitments to the project, Johnson also brought up another source which is part of a proverbial "three-legged stool" of funding. The first two legs include state funding from Oregon and Washington, as well as $1 billion in federal funding for a light rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program on both sides of the river. The third leg, however, has been a controversial point.

"Tolling on the bridge," he said. "And right now we have a sub-committee of the transportation commissions of each state that is looking at the policy for tolling and rate setting for tolling. So the approval is there. Now it's the details of how much tolling will be and how much funding we can expect to receive from tolling the new Interstate Bridge."

With around 130,000 cars a day crossing the Interstate Bridge, it is prone to congestion. Johnson noted the new bridge will help relieve that pressure with the use of "auxiliary lanes."

"We are making sure that those auxiliary lanes will allow traffic, the through lanes of traffic to flow much better than they currently do," he said. "It'll give folks a opportunity to get on and get off in a much more orderly manner.

The previous attempt to build a new bridge was called the Columbia River Crossing. While it fell apart over funding about a decade ago, Johnson said they are building off its legacy. But some lessons learned which the current project has taken to heart include the need for more community involvement.

"There can never be enough community outreach and making sure that the community's voice is being heard and reflected," he added, "There are also a few key technical differences, such as the light rail expansion does not go as far in this version, in the IBR version as compared to the Columbia River crossing version. The interchange on Hayden Island will have a much smaller footprint at the request of the community on Hayden Island."

Regarding impact the new bridge could have on commerce on either side of the Columbia River, Johnson believes it will bring "great new investments."

"Once folks see the new modern structure and the multimodal nature of this corridor, we think that that is going to spark others to locate or want to be near this corridor," he stated. "So we think it's going to be a great spark for the economy in Vancouver, which is doing tremendously well already. But we think that this is going to be nothing but a help to that vision."

To that end, Johnson - a self-described optimist - is highly confident that this bridge replacement project will move forward to completion.

"This is going to happen," he emphasized. "And the risks are just too high to have it fail again."

Should certain key milestones be met, Johnson said the construction on the new bridge could start as soon as late 2025.

Watch the full interview in the video above.