The Columbia River Crossing Needs Clark County Voters

The fate of the proposed $3.5 billion Columbia River Crossing might come down to Clark County voters in November.

C-Tran, Clark County's transit system, is considering a 0.1 percentage sales tax increase, which would generate $4.5 million a year to pay for operations and maintenance of the light rail line that would cross the proposed bridge.

On Monday, the idea got a big push from the Vancouver City Council, which endorsed the idea of increasing the sales tax.

C-Tran spokesman Scott Patterson said the transit agency is waiting for the results of an expert review of high-capacity transit before announcing the November ballot measure. Patterson says that could happen in about a month.

The CRC project is counting on state and federal funding to build the bridge, but it won't cover the operating expenses of light rail. C-Tran just passed an $8 million tax increase last year, but the agency has said that money won't flow into the CRC project.