Chief
06-04-2008, 08:13 AM
http://www.djcoregon.com/articleDetail.htm/2008/06/03/ODOT-uncorks-bottleneck-along-Delta-Park-Plan-is-for-60-million-project-to-wrap-up-in-October-2010
Plan is for $60 million project to wrap up in October 2010
POSTED: 04:00 AM PDT Tuesday, June 3, 2008
BY TYLER GRAF
Increasing transportation capacity along the Interstate 5 corridor has been a 20-year issue for both Washington and Oregon, and a solution has been consistently stalled by funding problems. But with the funding in place, work has begun on the Delta Park-to-Lombard I-5 project, which will widen two bridges and build a third off-ramp bridge.
The $60 million project, for which work will extend through October 2010, is intended to increase capacity between Portland and Vancouver. The project is an important piece in making sure that happens, according to project general contractor Hamilton Construction.
“This is a very significant transportation project for the whole region,” Hamilton principal Scott Williams said.
Kevin Parrish, an engineer for Hamilton Construction, agreed, saying he drives the route regularly and it never ceases to frustrate him.
“I’ve come down I-5 from Washington numerous times and it’s always – bang – a big bottleneck right there,” Parrish said.
The project had been identified by the Oregon Department of Transportation for close to two decades.
With work having begun, it’s now the first project under the I-5 Transportation and Trade Partnership Task Force, said ODOT spokesman Dave Thompson. It is supposed to address congestion concerns on the freeway corridor between Vancouver and Portland.
The lane-widening work comes at a time when government agencies in Vancouver and Portland are looking at the transportation options for the Columbia River Crossing Portland-Vancouver bridge. Both projects – the $4 billion Columbia River Crossing bridge and the $60 million lane widening – were placed on what Thompson calls a “project wish list” at approximately the same time, and both are supposed to accomplish the same primary goal – relieve transportation stress along the Portland-to-Vancouver corridor.
Thompson views the two projects as complementary in nature, despite having been planned separately.
“It’s big time for both projects right now,” Thompson said.
And though the lane-widening project is set to finish on Oct. 31, 2010, Thompson said a second phase for the corridor is in the works. This phase, which would cost about $50 million, is also mired in funding problems, and ODOT has not yet set a timetable for a start date.
“We’re still trying to explain this to the kind folks of Vancouver who are wondering why we haven’t finished this yet,” Thompson said, adding that ODOT must first address the project’s funding.
In addition to the $60 million being used on the lane-widening and bridge work, an additional $1 million is being used for community enhancement projects, including tree planting near the freeway.
Once Hamilton Construction finishes widening the bridges, the contractors will start performing an asphalt overlay to create a smoother driving surface. That is expected to begin during the summer of 2010.
Parrish believes that relieving the bottleneck and addressing the congestion will make life easier for commuters, business owners and consumers.
“When we have delays, like on Delta Park, it costs money and we have to pass this cost on,” Parrish said. “Everything becomes more expensive when that happens.”
This project has the potential to shoot all of the traffic projections by the Columbia Crossing Project down in flames. From what I have seen via reading the DEIS, none of the estimates of projections of current and future traffic patterns have incorporated anything about this project, and what effect removing the so-called Delta Park pinch point will have on traffic at the Columbia Crossing.
Developing...
Plan is for $60 million project to wrap up in October 2010
POSTED: 04:00 AM PDT Tuesday, June 3, 2008
BY TYLER GRAF
Increasing transportation capacity along the Interstate 5 corridor has been a 20-year issue for both Washington and Oregon, and a solution has been consistently stalled by funding problems. But with the funding in place, work has begun on the Delta Park-to-Lombard I-5 project, which will widen two bridges and build a third off-ramp bridge.
The $60 million project, for which work will extend through October 2010, is intended to increase capacity between Portland and Vancouver. The project is an important piece in making sure that happens, according to project general contractor Hamilton Construction.
“This is a very significant transportation project for the whole region,” Hamilton principal Scott Williams said.
Kevin Parrish, an engineer for Hamilton Construction, agreed, saying he drives the route regularly and it never ceases to frustrate him.
“I’ve come down I-5 from Washington numerous times and it’s always – bang – a big bottleneck right there,” Parrish said.
The project had been identified by the Oregon Department of Transportation for close to two decades.
With work having begun, it’s now the first project under the I-5 Transportation and Trade Partnership Task Force, said ODOT spokesman Dave Thompson. It is supposed to address congestion concerns on the freeway corridor between Vancouver and Portland.
The lane-widening work comes at a time when government agencies in Vancouver and Portland are looking at the transportation options for the Columbia River Crossing Portland-Vancouver bridge. Both projects – the $4 billion Columbia River Crossing bridge and the $60 million lane widening – were placed on what Thompson calls a “project wish list” at approximately the same time, and both are supposed to accomplish the same primary goal – relieve transportation stress along the Portland-to-Vancouver corridor.
Thompson views the two projects as complementary in nature, despite having been planned separately.
“It’s big time for both projects right now,” Thompson said.
And though the lane-widening project is set to finish on Oct. 31, 2010, Thompson said a second phase for the corridor is in the works. This phase, which would cost about $50 million, is also mired in funding problems, and ODOT has not yet set a timetable for a start date.
“We’re still trying to explain this to the kind folks of Vancouver who are wondering why we haven’t finished this yet,” Thompson said, adding that ODOT must first address the project’s funding.
In addition to the $60 million being used on the lane-widening and bridge work, an additional $1 million is being used for community enhancement projects, including tree planting near the freeway.
Once Hamilton Construction finishes widening the bridges, the contractors will start performing an asphalt overlay to create a smoother driving surface. That is expected to begin during the summer of 2010.
Parrish believes that relieving the bottleneck and addressing the congestion will make life easier for commuters, business owners and consumers.
“When we have delays, like on Delta Park, it costs money and we have to pass this cost on,” Parrish said. “Everything becomes more expensive when that happens.”
This project has the potential to shoot all of the traffic projections by the Columbia Crossing Project down in flames. From what I have seen via reading the DEIS, none of the estimates of projections of current and future traffic patterns have incorporated anything about this project, and what effect removing the so-called Delta Park pinch point will have on traffic at the Columbia Crossing.
Developing...