At issue over the height of the proposed I-5 Bridge, Thompson Metal Fab Inc. (TMF) has filed legal action with the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
The action, filed Monday, July 2 in Portland, names the project’s lead federal agencies that oversaw work on the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Those agencies include the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT).
TMF, a Vancouver-based steel fabricator, had been discussing its vertical clearance needs and mitigation options with Columbia River Crossing (CRC) staff, but said neither had been forthcoming.
TMF, which ships out an estimated $75.9 million worth of metal structural products a year, said it needs a minimum vertical clearance of 125 feet to continue meeting its current market. The new bridge design includes just 95 feet of vertical clearance.
In a press release, the company predicted “a 95-foot clearance would mean a loss of downriver access that could take away TMF’s ability to compete for contracts, limit the size of its projects and drive up transportation costs.”
In its claim, TMF argued the EIS did not consider the economic impacts of the proposed bridge height, despite the company expressing its concerns about vertical clearance as early as 2006, and on several occasions presenting CRC staff with documentation of its large-scale projects.
At press time, Columbia River Crossing Project staff were unavailable for comment.
