U.S. House Bill Would Make Funding for the Columbia River Crossing Even Tougher

By ANDREA DAMEWOOD

New legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives may put the Columbia River Crossing even further behind schedule.

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) is a member of the U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies, who has actively campaigned to remove light rail from the $3.4 billion CRC.

Herrera Beutler, her camp says in a release, helped craft this year's appropriations bill, which contains the New Starts grant program that provides federal transit money for transportation projects. The CRC is hoping that the Federal Transit Administration will give the project $850 million in New Starts funding this year.

The CRC fits none of those criteria.

"Project advocates continue to state that the main priority for the CRC is safety," Herrera Beutler says. "If that's really what they believe, then they should have no problem taking the divisive, controversial, and local light rail portion off the table. Let's concentrate on building a bridge that can safely and efficiently move people, goods and services and can actually earn the support of the taxpayers and commuters who will pay for it."

17 other projects around the nation stand ahead of the CRC in line for New Starts funding

WWeek 2015

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