Project Alternatives

The bridge, public transit and highway options under consideration have been packaged into several alternatives for analysis. This effort is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and will result in the publication of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS).

The following alternatives are being studied in the Draft EIS:

Replacement bridge with bus rapid transit
Replacement bridge with light rail
Supplemental bridge with bus rapid transit
Supplemental bridge with light rail
No build

The Columbia River Crossing project team is working to define and refine the details of each alternative to allow additional study and analysis and complete the Draft EIS. A formal public comment period is expected in the spring of 2008 on the selection of one alternative.

As part of the Draft EIS process, several additional congestion-relief elements will be included in each of the “build” alternatives. Each alternative will then be thoroughly analyzed to determine how well it relieves congestion and improves the safety and mobility problems defined for I-5.

Issues to be addressed in the Draft EIS:

Public transit (route, stations, and park and ride locations)
Freight improvements for connections and safety
Efficiencies (such as ramp meters, incident response, ridesharing and telecommuting)
Pedestrian and bicycle improvements
Effects to air, soil, water, wildlife and noise
Cultural and historical resource protection
High occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes
Tolling
Bridge type, appearance, and alignment (upstream or downstream)