The Columbia River Crossing’s finance plan has a half-a-billion-dollar hole because it relies on outdated traffic projections, says an analysis by the Oregon Treasury.
The Columbia River Crossing’s finance plan has a half-a-billion-dollar hole because it relies on outdated traffic projections, says an analysis by the Oregon Treasury.
The CRC is using outdated, inflated traffic projections and a tolling plan that incorporated an unacceptably risky debt service structure, according to the Oregon Treasury analysis. Insert more realistic toll revenue numbers and a more conservative bond repayment schedule, the analysis concludes, and the CRC’s anticipated pot of $3 billion-plus shrinks by between $468 million and $598 million.
In response, Gov. John Kitzhaber said he’s directing the CRC staff to prepare a “sequencing plan” that matches construction with anticipated cash flow. “I believe that if we are going to get the CRC done, it is time to start planning for a project that adapts to the available resources and fits into today’s economic reality,” Kitzhaber said in a statement after being briefed by Treasurer Ted Wheeler and his staff.
Read more at OregonLive.com.
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