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I’ve grown weary of the debate about replacing the I-5 bridge with another bridge. Shouldn’t we be talking about constructing a tunnel under the river? A tunnel links Hokkaido to Honshu in Japan, and that one goes under the OCEAN, for goodness’ sake. What’s wrong with talking about a tunnel for, say, the next 20 years? —Kent in the Hinterlands
Like you, Kent, I’ve watched the Columbia River Crossing saga unfold over the decades, as sprawling and byzantine as George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series* and about as likely to be completed in our lifetimes. I can’t really blame you for concluding that the purpose of this process isn’t to build a bridge, but merely to provide an enduring subject for wonkish cocktail-party chatter (albeit chatter fueled by periodic seven-figure feasibility studies).
If this were the case, it would indeed make sense just to talk about whatever version of the Crossing is the most fun, whether a bridge, a tunnel, a dirigible or a magical pony. Unfortunately for your next cocktail party, however, the people working on this really are trying to make it happen, and going underground makes it even more difficult.
Digging a tunnel that duplicates the span of the existing Interstate Bridge isn’t all that hard. The problem is that there’s a limit to how steep interstate highways can be. The shallow ramp you’d need to get traffic deep enough to go under the river would have to start way before Marine Drive and emerge beyond Mill Plain Boulevard. That would require all new on-ramps and approaches, displacing acres of existing development. Cha-CHING!
There was talk a few years back of a more modest bike-and-transit-only tunnel (à la Tilikum Crossing) to supplement existing bridge traffic, following the example of the Vegas Loop created by The Boring Company in 2021. Unfortunately, Boring Company CEO Elon Musk turned out to be Elon Musk, and his participation in a major Portland infrastructure project would probably be about as welcome as a Louis CK set at Lilith Fair.
The sad truth is that a tunnel seems almost impossible. Hell, at this point, even a bridge seems a distant hope. I really do hope I’m wrong, though! If the project is ever actually completed, I will be only too happy to eat crow. (Assuming, of course, I’m still alive then and have any teeth left.)
*That’s the still-unfinished series of books that Game of Thrones was based on, for those of you who’ve had sex.
Questions? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com.
