The Honorable John Kitzhaber, Governor The Honorable Jay Inslee, Governor

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1 August 7, 2013 The Honorable John Kitzhaber, Governor The Honorable Jay Inslee, Governor State of Oregon State of Washington 900 Court Street, NE Room 160 P.O. Box Salem, Oregon Olympia, WA Dear Governors Kitzhaber and Inslee, First, we want to thank you both for your continued leadership on the bi-state efforts to replace the old, inadequate and unsafe I-5 Bridge across the Columbia River. With 15 years of local and community efforts, your state leadership, and Senator Murray s active engagement at the federal level, we have produced a bi-state project that is constructionready. However, even with the strength of your leadership and support, we recognize that the long list of competing state priorities and limited resources you both face makes moving any project forward challenging. As individuals and organizations who have been engaged as volunteers and community leaders - some of us for more than a decade - in developing the proposal to replace the I-5 Bridge, extend light rail to Clark College and improve interchanges on both sides of the river, we are asking you to continue your bi-state leadership to keep the project moving forward on budget and on schedule. Our federal partners are well aware of the economic imperative to the nation and the west coast to fix this major freight bottleneck over the river. But the I-5 Bridge over the Columbia River is more than just a national or West Coast freight bottleneck. For the city of Vancouver and the state of Oregon, this project is our economic lifeline to a future of possibilities. Without it we are hamstrung at every turn - and our region will be trapped by traffic. Retaining businesses that depend on freight movements will be difficult, recruiting new businesses and industry will be next to impossible. Businesses, and the communities that depend on them throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, will be faced with making difficult choices as their costs go up and their ability to compete nationally and globally diminishes. Without this investment, Southwest Washington and Oregon s future will be limited. We feel strongly that while there is still a window of time to receive federal support, we cannot afford to walk away from thousands of hours of public involvement and community leadership on both sides of the river, reams of technical data, a completed federal environmental review process, and an investment of $175 million taxpayer dollars, without exhausting every possibility. As you both acknowledged in your statements after the failure of the Washington Senate to vote on a transportation funding package, the need still exists and our bi-state collaboration would continue, but future options must be different recognizing the lack of action from the Washington Legislature. We are writing today about a phased option that we believe deserves a broader, deeper and expedited review. In preliminary discussions with agency staff, we found this option

2 appealing. It recognizes the fiscal realities, takes advantage of the years of technical work, permits and financial investments, and could get the bridge and light rail built on budget and schedule without requiring new gas taxes in Washington. This phased option replaces the bridge, connects light rail, and improves Hayden Island and Marine Drive interchanges in Oregon. Without Washington state funds, the Washington roadway and interchange improvements will be phased in when Washington funding becomes available. The estimated cost of this phased option would be about $2.75 billion. Federal partners would continue to pay for light rail, bridge users (tolls) would pay for the replacement bridge, landings and improvements to Washington s SR 14, and Oregon s state funds would improve Oregon s Hayden Island and Marine Drive interchanges. We recognize that the phased option will require a new flexibility from federal, state and local agencies, some modified roles and responsibilities from project partners, and expedited state(s) administrative and legal review. It will require an even greater level of bi-state collaboration, partnership and leadership in a very short timeframe. It also will require extensive financial vetting, review, and risk analysis by both states. We understand that building any project of this size is complex but we find this phased approach appealing because of its focus and simplicity. It fixes the bridge, takes advantage of work to date, responds to limited funds, does not require new taxes and could keep the project on schedule. There is urgency behind this request. As you both well know, our federal partners have made it clear over and over again that there are other national-priority, shovel-ready projects in the queue ready to take our place for funding if we don t act in And, on September 30, Oregon s commitment to funds will expire without further action. As governors who share a commitment to replacing the old, seismically vulnerable and unsafe I-5 Bridge that connects our two states, we hope you both will continue your bi-state leadership and consider deploying your administrations to conduct the necessary administrative, legal and financial reviews to determine the viability of this phased option. And, that these reviews are conducted with an intensity and urgency that recognizes time is running out. Sincerely,

3 John B. Rudi Thompson Metal Fab, Inc Robert M. Byrd Pacific Die Casting John Mohlis Executive Secretary, Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council Lance Killian Killian Pacific Mike Salsgiver Executive Director, AGC Oregon-Columbia Chapter Jonathan Avery Chief Administrative Officer Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center Joey Fuerstenberg, CM Certified Memorialist Vancouver Granite Works, Inc. Royce Pollard Former Mayor City of Vancouver Lori J. Morgan, MD, MBA Chief Administrative Officer Legacy Emanuel Medical Center Kim J. Capeloto Executive Vice Riverview Community Bank Gary Neal General Manager, Port of Morrow

4 David Groth Principal Appraisal & Consulting Group, LLC Scot Walstra Vice Cowlitz County Economic Development Council David Bennett Chief Executive Officer Rebound Orthopedics & Neurosurgery Henry H. Hewitt STOEL RIVES LLP Paul Montague Identity Clark County Ginger Metcalf Vancouver Citizen Mark Landauer Executive Director Oregon Public Ports Association Eric Fuller Eric Fuller & Associates, Inc. Ryan Deckert Oregon Business Association Paul Christensen Chairman of the Board Realvest Corporation

5 Melinda Merrill Director of Public Affairs Fred Meyer Duncan Wyse Oregon Business Council Peter Allen Vancouver Citizen Winston Asai VP-Finance and Chief Financial Officer Columbia Machine, Inc. Scott Horenstein Attorney at Law Bill Furman CEO The Greenbrier Companies Kristin Meira Executive Director, Pacific Northwest Waterways Association Bill Wyatt Executive Director Port of Portland John Carter Chairman Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. Chair, Oregon Business Plan Jane Jacobsen Executive Director Confluence Project

6 Shannon Walker, SW Washington Labor Council Vice Washington State Labor Council District 3 Brad Carlson Owner Evergreen Memorial Gardens Mark Feichtinger Citizen Tim Schauer /CEO MacKay Spositio Don Russo Attorney Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt Ed Lynch Ed Lynch Company Arch Miller & CEO International Air Academy, Inc. Mary B. Meyers Owner Thresholds, Inc. Ron Arp Owner Amplify Group, Inc. Tonya Rulli Tonya Rulli Law Firm

7 Noland Hoshino Co-Founder [B]cause Lisa Nisenfeld Columbia River Economic Development Council Tim Kraft, PE Principle OTAK, Inc. Jody Campbell Director/Owner The Columbian Neil J. Nelson Chairman of the Board Associated Oregon Industries Scott Campbell Owner/Publisher The Columbian Ann Lininger Vice and General Counsel Oregon Iron Works Rhona Sen Hoss Citizen John D. White Citizen John Deeder Superintendent Evergreen Public Schools

8 Steve Horenstein Horenstein Law Group Gregg Kantor Chair Portland Business Alliance Elie Kassab Owner Prestige Development Kelly Parker /CEO Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce Eric Sawyer Area Manager BBSI Ted Sprague, Cowlitz County Economic Development Council Ray Barney Vancouver Resident Jill Eiland NW Region Corporate Affairs Manager Intel Tom Chamberlain, Oregon AFL-CIO Jim Piro & CEO Portland General Electric

9 Sandra McDonough & CEO Portland Business Alliance Robert Parker Vancouver Citizen David Myers Executive Secretary Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council Richard Pokornowski Vancouver Resident Eric Olmsted Owner On-Line Support Rich Brown Senior Vice Bank of America Nancy Baker Vancouver Resident Gary Young Business Manager/Financial Secretary, IBEW Local 48 Karen Ciocia Vancouver Resident Brian Wolfe Attorney at Law Marsha Manning Vancouver Resident

10 Marty Myers General Manager Threemile Canyon Farms, LLC Linda McLain Downtown Vancouver Business Owner David Koch Chief Financial Officer Oregon International Port of Coos Bay Sharon Lewis Owner, Columbia Vista Craig Boretz Vice for Development Con-Way Tom Mears Chairman The Holland Inc./Burgerville Gary Eichman Oregon Transfer