PORTLAND -- After years of work and millions of dollars spent, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber says the Columbia River Crossing project is dead.
Lawmakers in Washington state finished their 2013 session without funding their half of the project.
The CRC would have replaced the interstate 5 bridge between Oregon and Washington.
On Saturday, Washington's senate refused to vote on a transportation funding package needed to secure the project.
Oregon had committed $450 million to the project, but without a similar pledge from Washington, the project loses its federal funding.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee slammed leaders in the senate for not acting. Oregon governor John Kitzhaber released a statement in the wake of the transportation budget failure.
I am extremely disappointed that our legislative partners in the Washington State Senate failed to address the clear and present safety and economic need for this essential I-5 bridge, he said.
Washington Senator Ann Rivers of La Center, a critic of the project, responded as well.
Although a door has closed on what I believe was a deeply-flawed proposal, this is a great opportunity to create a new, much better Columbia River Crossing without the issues of the original plan, she said.
Back in may, Washington state representative Liz Pike said the project planning phase alone had already cost more than $170 million.
