This whole topic is much like routine auto maintenance. It's about the mantra of "pay now, or pay later," with paying later implying a larger outlay. I though the Columbia River Crossing (CRC), was sort of a given. That is, until I saw a billboard along I-205 on the Oregon side of the Columbia River against it and even a smart looking (haha) Subaru wagon with the not so smart "No CRC" on it, displayed as a circle with a diagonal bar across it, much like a (European) traffic sign. The CRC is a high profile infrastructure project to replace the current bridge on I-5 as it connects Oregon and Washington along the West Coast's principal north-south interstate highway. The current bridge features 3 lanes in each direction and is a cantilevered structure in which a section lifts up to let larger boats through. This means that traffic, on an interstate no less, sometimes needs to stop. Good words to describe this would be backwater and provincial! During the last few decades, parallel I-205 saw the building of the Glenn Jackson Bridge to cross the Columbia River. That bridge has 4 lanes in each direction, in addition to a bike lane in the center and which can presumably also be used by pedestrians. It appears to be a "strong, silent type," doing its job without much fuss. The CRC would see a new modern bridge with the bridge deck placed up high to let boats sail underneath. Not only that, there would be provisions for bicycles, pedestrians, and an extension of the MAX Gold Line into Clark County, WA for at least a handful of stations. I-5 north of Vancouver, WA near Hazel Dell and other areas is wide, modern, and representative of a respectable suburban interstate highway. However, I-5 south of the river, and all the way to downtown Portland, is outdated and abysmal in carrying traffic during peak travel periods. That said, the new bridge ought to feature a sufficient number of lanes and I-5 south of the river, on the Oregon side,needs to be widened. Additionally, no major road infrastructure project is complete without provisions for bicycles and pedestrians. Plans for the CRC include such provisions. Addtionally, the icing on the cake, and possibly the most controversial feature, is the extension of Trimet's MAX light rail line across the river. Naysayers booed at creating the Green Line to reach Clackamas County. It has been a success, as has been the recently opened Orange Line to reach Milwaukie, Oregon. The Gold Line extension would cross on the bridge into Vancouver, WA (USA), and then veer northeasterly toward Clark (Community) College. Ideally, the swath would extend all the way to Vancouver Mall, making rail across the river available to more users, since we already are and are increasingly becoming more of a 4-county metro area. This means Vancouverites could easily get to downtown Portland, key suburban locations across the river in Oregon, and even the international aiport, and do it faster and without buses which might get entangled in traffic. Since this won't be signature project along the lines of the new East Span of the Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco to Oakland, I can't give this project 5 stars. However, I am definitely a fan of a modern new interstate bridge in a metro area which keeps growing and the inclusion of provisions for cyclists, pedestrians, and, most of all, light rail as part of the package deal. read more