Issue Position: Jobs and the Columbia River Crossing

Issue Position

Over $150 million has been wasted on planning for a $3.6 billion bridge. Ms. Herrera Beutler is not a leader; she is a professional politician, who won't take a stand on light rail.

Herrera Beutler supports tolling.

Herrera Beutler did vote for "The Bridge to Nowhere" wasting $183 million.

Tolling on both I-5 and I-205 would be required. Tolling would have no end date. (RCW 47.56.830)

Tolls could be as high as $12 per car.

65,000 vehicles per day could be diverted to I-205 due to tolling.

Solution: Jon Haugen would stop the wasteful spending and bring good paying jobs to the area by building an I-5 bridge we can afford. Jon Haugen is the leader we need, by saying: 'keep the current bridges, and build a new six lane bridge with no light rail and no tolls'.

This is a $640 million dollar solution that saves over $3 billion dollars ($3,000,000,000).

The I-205 Bridge completed in 1983 cost $179.5 million. The I-205 bridge is twice as long as the I-5 bridge, has eight lanes, safety shoulders and a bike/pedestrian path; no tolls.

Jon Haugen would work with small businesses and the private sector to 'grow jobs'. Ports, tourism, health care, financial services, data service centers, wind turbines and solar cells can all play a part in more jobs and opportunities.

Jon Haugen visited Pipestone, Minnesota to see the Wind Turbine manufacturing plant built by Suzlon. Suzlon imports, from India, wind turbines destined for the Columbia River gorge. Jon would work to bring a Wind Turbine manufacturing plant to the Third Congressional District.

Jon Haugen visited the REC Corporation plant in Moses Lake where silicon, used in production of solar panels, is created. That silicon is exported to Europe for solar panel manufacturing. Jon would work with the private sector to build solar panels here.

Jobs in construction and manufacturing must be added to the Third Congressional District.

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