By Cornelius Swart

Planners and engineers are scrambling to refine cost-cutting recommendations for the Columbia River Crossing ahead of the next major stakeholders meeting this Oct. 23.

In recent months policymakers, planners, and elected officials around the region have been  looking for ways to scale down the $4 billion interstate highway and bridge improvement project.

However, Hayden Island activists are wary that their livability may also be on the chopping block.

“Hayden Island will get much worse,” said Victor Viets, an island businessman and treasurer for the Hayden Island Neighborhood Network (HiNoon).

Previous CRC plans would impact the island by displacing several floating homes. But the new cost cutting proposals threaten to displace the neighborhoods retail area and sink two of its major roads more than 10 feet into the ground.

“[The CRC] would acknowledge that Hayden Island is [already] being impacted more than anyone else.," said Viets. "This [proposed] cost cutting is only going to make it worse.”

Just a few months ago activists on Hayden Island appeared relatively confident that the project would help improve traffic circulation, open space, and livability on their island community.  Proposed changes to the CRC plan could wind up sinking Jantzen Drive nearly 12 feet into the ground and demolish the area's planned neighborhood shopping district.

Trillions of pennies to pinch

The project has been beset by recessionary budget cutting and rising political divisions between the cities of Portland and Vancouver that are calling into question everything from the over-water bridge’s whopping 12-lane width to financing construction costs through tolls.

On Sept. 30 a round of meetings were held in North Portland to discuss transit on Hayden Island and a set of freeway interchanges that could cost up to $1.5 billion. 

“We’re looking at delaying the flyover,” said CRC spokeswoman KC Cooper in reference to the interchanges. Delaying some interchanges in North Portland and Vancouver is one way to save money. Cooper said that savings could also come from recycling some of the existing structures such as Columbia Channel freeway viaducts.

“There are 50 bridge structures in this project,” said Cooper. “We could get substantial savings just from building fewer piers.”

“There are five proposed bridges at Hayden Island under the current CRC plan,” said Viets. “That’s 21 lanes ... it would be a forest of columns.”

However, replacing the columns with “dirt fill” or a berm could greatly affect the island’s east/west streets.  Jantzen Beach Drive is currently 7 feet below grade and would sink another 5 feet if concrete piers were replaced with dirt fill. A plan to extend Tomahawk Island Drive to the west would now require it to go as deep as 22 feet below road surface. Viets claims neighbors may be more concerned about sunken roads than concrete piers.

“I’m just not sure what it [proposed changes]  will do to our livability,” said Viets.

What is certain is that on Sept. 11 the CRC sponsors committed to build two double-decker bridge structures to replace the existing Interstate Bridge.

Two side-by-side bridges would carry one-way vehicle traffic on their upper decks. The lower levels would carry mass transit on the western span, and pedestrians and bicycle traffic on the eastern span. 

But under new plans in consideration some structures would shift the project slightly, demolishing the Safeway supermarket at 11919 N. Jantzen Ave.

“It would move the freeway east, which is where we were hoping to have our neighborhood retail area,” said Viets, referring to Hayden Island’s neighborhood plan. The plan was just approved by the city of Portland in April of this year. “We’re very concerned. We want to see if there’s a way to do it that would have less impact on the island”

Back-to-back CRC meetings, Oct. 8, Hayden Island Hayden Island Yacht Club at 12050 N Jantzen, #108, (503) 656-1925. www.haydenisland.us 5-6:30 p.m.

CRC disucssion on interchanges; 7 p.m. HiNoon meets to discuss tolling and bridge refinements.  For more information call (360) 816-8894 or go to www.columbiarivercrossing.org.