The Oregon senate passes a bill to allow Oregon to sell approximately $300 billion in bonds over the next ten years to fund part of the Columbia River Crossing, a bridge that will replace the Interstate 5 Bridge that connects Portland to Vancouver Washington. The project will cost $3.4 billion the project would replace two bridges with a new span and light rail into downtown Vancouver. in order to move forward, the project must obtain funding and approval from the federal government.

There are opponents to the project sighting that the traffic will cause more pollution and may add traffic through nearby neighborhoods. I think that we do need the new bridge which will allow traffic to move faster and smother through the area. Oregon along with many other states and cities need to move their traffic into a newer and modern mode of travel.

Right now the project is waiting to see how Washington will approve their share of the $450 million project cost. Once the states sign their share of the $950 million of the costs the planners hope to secure $850 million in federal transportation funding for the light rail aspect of the project. Part of the cost of $1.75 billion will be raised by charging a toll. And an additional $400 million will be sought from federal highway funds to complete the project.

Another idea to help defray the cost would be to charge an additional 10 cent gas tax and additional .07 of your cars value on car registration fees.

I hope the project moves forward, the United States needs to improve their transportation system in order to keep up with other countries. But beyond that we need the jobs that these projects would provide for many construction workers and other businesses that provide products materials and various things associated with building infrastructures.

The amount of money generated by these projects is what keeps the economy going. Money in people's pockets simply generates a strong economy for everyone. I hope the project moves forward at a high speed.