[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 209 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6037-S6038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     I-5 Bridge Replacement Project

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today, thrilled to 
announce major progress on something that I have been working on since 
my earliest days here in the U.S. Senate: replacing the I-5 bridge 
between Vancouver, WA, and Portland, OR.
  Late last week, the administration began the notification and review 
process for grants from the brand new Mega Grant Program we all worked 
together to establish in the bipartisan infrastructure law, and I was 
proud to help write the provisions that made sure the Mega Program was 
funded when we passed that law. So I am ecstatic that the I-5 Bridge 
Replacement Project will be receiving $600 million in Federal funding 
from the Mega Grant Program to move us forward on a project that is 
hugely important to Washington State, to the Pacific Northwest, and 
really the entire country.
  This has been a long time coming, and I should know because I have 
been there for just about every step of this journey. I remember 
meeting with Senator Hatfield from Oregon when I was first elected to 
talk about the need to replace the I-5 crossing between our States--
Washington and Oregon--which was already in bad condition in

[[Page S6038]]

the 1990s. We sat down with folks to hold one of the first of many, 
many, many conversations about what needed to be done and how we could 
make it happen.
  Then, in 2003, as the top Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee 
on Transportation, I held a hearing in Vancouver to discuss why this 
project was so important. Back then, I was raising the alarm about 
predictions that peak congestion for traffic would hit 10 hours by 
2020. And wouldn't you know it, today, we are dealing with 7 to 10 
hours of slow-moving traffic during the morning and evening rush hours.
  Ever since I held that field hearing 20 years ago, I have continued 
to champion this project at every possible opportunity and every 
juncture over the years--from securing tens of millions of dollars in 
Federal funding for the early stages of this project back when it was 
known as the Columbia River Crossing to sitting down with stakeholders 
and community leaders dozens of times and holding countless 
conversations on the thorny issues of moving ahead with a massive 
project like this, to passing a new provision into law to ease the 
FTA's evaluation process for multimodal projects and make the I-5 
Bridge Replacement Project more competitive for Federal funding, and of 
course pressing hard to keep this dream alive when previous efforts 
fell apart. It has not been easy.
  As anyone who has been involved in this process over the years knows, 
there have been no shortage of challenges and setbacks. And, make no 
mistake, we still have a lot more work to do to see this project 
through, but failing to replace the I-5 bridge has never been an option 
to me because I know how important this is to Southwest Washington and, 
really, to the entire region.
  Let me just spell out the stakes for everyone here because too often 
we take our infrastructure for granted and ignore it until it 
completely fails. In just about every conversation I have had about the 
I-5 replacement project over the years, I have been clear we cannot 
afford to forget about this because, if we keep kicking the can down 
the road, one of these days, that entire bridge will collapse.
  I am not about to sit back and let that happen. We are talking about 
infrastructure that dates back to World War I. We have over 130,000 
cars a weekday and nearly $100 billion of goods a year driving bumper 
to bumper across an antique that is at serious risk of collapse in the 
event of an earthquake, which is not exactly unheard of in our region. 
That is a recipe for disaster. It is frightening for everyone who has 
to drive across that bridge every day, and it is a huge economic 
liability for the businesses and communities who rely on the goods that 
are trucked over it.
  And beyond the risk of collapse in the future, there are losses 
caused by traffic we are seeing today, which is hampering billions of 
dollars in trade and commerce and stealing one of people's most 
precious and irreplaceable resources: their time. It is wasting hours 
of their lives every day, making them late for work, making them get 
home late, and keeping them away from their family and friends and 
loved ones.
  Replacing this bridge that is overcrowded, over 100 years old, and 
underprepared for an earthquake should be a no-brainer, especially 
since this project also includes vital transit and roadway improvements 
like extending the light rail from Portland, OR, to Vancouver, WA, and 
making the crossing safer and more accessible for cyclists and 
pedestrians.
  As everyone who has been involved in this discussion knows, Mega 
funding is critical to building out those key components of the 
project. This is a great and important reminder for all of my 
colleagues. Good things happen when we all roll up our sleeves and work 
together to make good bipartisan legislation a reality.
  So a special thank-you especially to the 10 bipartisan Senators whose 
resolve and determination to work together and hammer out the details 
of the legislation made the bipartisan infrastructure law a reality.
  Now, the importance and urgency of this project should be obvious. 
Unfortunately, as someone who has had to make this argument over and 
over again, I can tell you it has not always been the case. Much like 
the citizens on the I-5, this bridge replacement project has been stuck 
in gridlock way too long. I have been pushing hard for years to keep 
this moving forward, and with this announcement, we are now making big 
progress.
  So I really was delighted to announce this major progress toward 
securing funding which I have worked on for so long, along with my 
amazing partners like Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, State Senator 
Annette Cleveland, Secretary Roger Millar at the Washington State 
Department of Transportation, Greg Johnson and his incredible staff, 
all of our Southwest Washington labor allies, and so many others who 
joined me in this effort over so many years. This Mega grant will be an 
important mile marker and a sign that we are finally picking up speed.
  Now, I am determined to secure the additional Federal funding we will 
need to get this done, but this announcement is bringing a goal we have 
been working on together for decades--replacing the I-5 crossing--
closer into view, and that is a big deal. I am as ready as I have ever 
been to keep moving forward and finish the job.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.