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HIA Archive : Columbia River Crossing Columbia River Crossing Authors: Portland Health Impact Assessment Workgroup Date: June 2008
Summary of the HIA * The Columbia River Crossing (CRC) Project proposes four alternatives to the present Interstate 5 bridge that spans the Columbia River and connects southwest Washington to Portland, Oregon. Background ** and Policy Context Interstate 5 directly connects the cities of Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon via a bridge over the Columbia River. Transit connections within the CRC project area are currently constrained by many of the same problems facing highway motorists—outdated highway safety design features and traffic congestion are increasing travel times and reducing reliability for buses connections between Clark County and to Portland. In addition to the bridge itself, the project area—a five-mile section of I-5 between SR 500 in Vancouver and Columbia Boulevard in Portland, includes six interchanges that connect three state highways and several major arterial roadways. Joined by various state and local transportation agencies The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are leading efforts to conduct a federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process to evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed project and alternatives. Separate from the EIS process, an ad hoc group, the Portland Health Impact Assessment Workgroup led by the Multnomah County Health Department (Portland, OR), conducted a health impact assessment of the project. This HIA subsequently provided a foundation for health department comments on the DEIR. The final EIS, which will include responses to comments, is due to be released late summer or early fall 2009. Scope and Methods Using existing data and a literature review the HIA examines the potential health impacts of the proposed bridge alternatives studied in the EIS and second outlines the recommendations for mitigating negative health impacts associated. Specific areas of health-related impacts addressed in the HIA include transportation (physical activity and obesity), (traffic) safety, air quality, noise and environmental justice issues. Summary of findings The Portland Health Impact Assessment Workgroup made the following recommendations based on the assessments made on health impacts:
Updated 06/23/2009 * The HIA-CLIC website and this summary were developed by the UCLA Health Impact Assessment (UCLA-HIA) Project with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Every effort has been made to ensure that these summaries are factually accurate. HIA authors have been given an opportunity to review summaries before posting. HIA authors may notify us of any factual inaccuracies or updates by filling out a Request for Update form (click for pop-up form).** Readers interested in more detail, including literature citations, for the background summarized here are encouraged to view the full HIA report (see external link above), or to review the relevant Pathway section of HIA-CLIC.
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