As The World Turns...

Not the TV show... but the real world...

At times, digging into toll news is like a rewritten script of a soap opera. It is the same news but repeated in a different fashion. Ultimately it is what it is… the same.

But, this past week we have seen success in some undertakings as well as arguments that continue the dialog of concept vs. sensibility. We might think that tolling has nothing to do with either of the articles but the truth is that these expensive projects have to get paid for somehow.

In Short

Article 1 - I-5 cut a swath through the neighborhood of Albina when it was constructed. Today, or in the future, there are hopes to reconnect what I-5 split apart. But this effort is going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars if not billions.

Cost projects, with I-5 improvements, have been said to be eclipsing $2 billion. Will that be enough and can the project ever get started? Well, the Federal government is now putting monies behind it to get the project off the ground.

Article 2 - John Ley, with Clark County Today, pens this article which looks at the downward trend of transit ridership against the need to build an expensive transit system spanning the Columbia River along side the Interstate Bridge Replacement.

A good read to understand the cost benefits of a 3 mile train ride as opposed to a few buses to fill the need.

Weekly Articles

The Albina neighborhood gets Federal monies to reconnect...

Building a rail line across the Columbia River... Does this make sense...