News Oct 14, 2010 at 4:00 am

Study: I-5 Bridge Will Cost Double State's Estimates

Comments

1
Damn, so glad someone took the time to deconstruct the true cost of the bridge. Thanks Joe & Chris!
2
The CRC is not a bridge. It's an approximately 9 mile highway expansion that happens to include a river crossing.
3
Now that I have William C. (Chris) Girard, Jr's signature, I can cash checks at ANY Plaid Pantry store!
4
Any response from team CRC?

Any requests thereof?
5
I have to sign up for Facebook to download a copy of the study? Are you shilling for Zuckerberg now?
6
CRC uses nationally recognized processes to develop traffic forecasts and cost estimates for the project. This information is consistently shared with the public and project partners as it is updated. It’s also available online: www.columbiarivercrossing.org. See below for a little more information about these items.

Finance plan and cost estimates
Funding for CRC is being sought from appropriate federal sources, tolls, and the states. The finance plan fully accounts for all project costs, including capital construction costs, maintenance and operations costs, and financing and interest costs. This plan was evaluated by an Independent Review Panel ths summer and found to include realistic levels of federal funding and sources that are typical and to be expected.

The capital cost for the project has been calculated using standard industry practices and a nationally recognized risk management process. The project describes the costs and the financing plan separately, but as directly related processes. This is also standard practice. The Plaid Pantry report mixes capital costs, operating costs and financing costs into one number, which is not standard practice. The recent CRC independent review panel, appointed by the governors of both states, commended the project's risk assessment approach and recommended this methodology be used again following additional evaluation of the bridge type and design changes which have been made throughout the corridor.

A good analogy would be buying a house. If you want to buy a home for $250,000, you get a mortgage. While you pay off the mortgage (and do yard work and pay your utility bills), you also pay interest. Your finance plan allows you to pay your mortgage and bills on time and you tell people that your house cost you $250,000 – the amount you paid for it, which does not include the cost of your utilities or the interest payments on your mortgage.

Traffic forecasts
CRC traffic analysis comes from Metro's nationally recognized travel demand model. This is the same model that all regional projects use. All of CRC’s traffic modeling forecasts have been reviewed by a multi-jurisdictional team including all of our local partners. An expert peer review panel validated the analysis in 2008 and the CRC Project Sponsors Council recently reaffirmed supplemental traffic and land use analysis that was conducted by Metro in July 2010.

Mandy Putney, CRC

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