Independent Review Panel (IRP) releases final report
Salem, OR/Olympia, WA
Governors Christine O. Gregoire and Theodore R. Kulongoski of Washington and Oregon respectively announced the release of the final report of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) they formed in April to review the current status of the $3.6 billion Columbia River Crossing Project. The panel was charged to assess three areas of the project: implementation activities, the finance plan and performance measures.
http://crcreview.org/documents/GovernorsPressRelease_073010.pdf
The IRP was comprised of the following individuals:
- Tom Warne, Chairman (Tom Warne and Associates)
- Rodney Brown (Cascadia Law Group)
- E. Robert Ferguson (ERF LLC)
- Dr. Patricia Galloway (Pegasus Global Holdings)
- Diana Mendes (AECOM)
- Dr. Michael Meyer (GA Tech)
- Mary Lou Ralls-Newman (Ralls-Newman)
- Tim Neuman (CH2M Hill)
Administrative support was provided to the panel by Public Knowledge through Jennifer Vachon.
The IRP’s final report provided 30 recommendations to the governors. The recommendations offer a “road map” for the project to progress forward towards construction.
http://crcreview.org/documents/IRP_report.pdf
The panel conducted seven hearings and three community comment meetings and gathered significant information relative to their charge. The major recommendations are:
- Resolve current land use issues and transportation solutions on Hayden Island
- Resolve technical issues relating to the open web design for the Columbia River Crossing
- Complete a variety of NEPA requirements
- Reinvigorate the public involvement process
- Establish a long-term governance structure for the project
First, it was an amazing experience to work with such an amazing group of individuals as found on this panel. Second, the lessons learned from this review have application on many projects throughout the country. The CRC is an important project that must be built. The recommendations provided by the IRP are the most direct route to that end goal. TW