Bridge Program Publishes Next Steps: Remaining Permits, Then Remaining Steps
By Wade Salmon-Creek · County Desk & Bridge Watch ·
VANCOUVER — The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program announced in its July newsletter that the project has reached a milestone, under the headline “Milestone reached: Replacement I-5 bridge moves to construction phase!” — punctuation the program’s own, and believed to be its first.
The newsletter then listed the program’s next steps: securing the remaining permits and obligating the remaining grant funding.
The construction phase does not yet include construction. A contractor is expected to be hired in 2027, construction is eyed for 2028, and completion is projected for 2035.
The newsletter was produced by the program’s milestone communications team, which sources describe as fully staffed, ahead of schedule, and larger than the bridge’s current construction crew, which is zero people.
“Building is itself a phase of permitting,” a program official explained. “Or permitting is a phase of building. The diagram reads in both directions, honestly.”
Bridge Watch, now in Year 47, records the phases as officially phased, the steps formally stepped, and the remaining steps remaining.
The bridge did not respond to a request for comment.
Filed after: the IBR program's July newsletter — 'Milestone reached: Replacement I-5 bridge moves to construction phase!' Next steps listed: securing remaining permits and obligating remaining grant funding. Real, including the punctuation. — Ed.