[All-Gorge] 🏞️ The $3.4 Million Park Land vs New Bridge Standoff, HRWSBA - 3/9 & 3/23

The replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon bridge is accelerating, but a multimillion-dollar land dispute with Oregon State Parks threatens to drain local funds. Today, we cover the 3/9 & 3/23 HRWS Bridge Authority meetings, break down the creative cross-border strategies local leaders are using to fight back, the logistical nightmare of dismantling the old toll booths, and the ticking clock on federal funding.

In This Episode:

• The impending collision between the new bridge and existing toll booths
• Historic tribal agreements and federal red tape
• Washington D.C. lobbying efforts to unlock $8 million in stalled cash
• The October 2026 federal funding cliff

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• View meeting agendas, packets, and public comment forms at: https://hrwsba.gov/meetings
• Gorge Documenter notes on the HR Port Authority Meeting: https://www.documenters.org/assignments/regular-meeting-19442/report/
• Documenter notes on the 3/9 HRWSBA meeting: https://www.documenters.org/assignments/bi-monthly-meeting-19253/report/
• Thanks to Columbia Gorge Documenters for releasing their notes under CC by 4.0, powered by Uplift Local: https://upliftlocal.news/columbia-gorge/columbia-gorge-documenters/

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Transcript

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Welcome to your Gorge briefing. Today we're looking at the Hood River White Salmon Bridge Authority meetings for March 9th and March 23rd, and the massive logistical and financial puzzles they're trying to solve before construction starts next fall. Let's start with a fight brewing with the state of Oregon over parkland. Here is the core of the problem. When construction starts, the footprint of the new bridge will wipe out some of the existing recreational space around the marina. Because that specific parkland is protected by federal law, the bridge authority cannot just pave it over and walk away. They're legally required to buy an equal amount of new recreational space to replace exactly what is being lost by this project. Because the new bridge will physically impact protected recreational areas, federal law demands a replacement. Oregon State officials are pointing to a regulation, known as Section 6F, that essentially hands the Bridge Authority a $3.4 million bridge mitigation bill, and the state has suggested using that money to buy parkland far away from the gorge. So local leaders are pushing back hard. They want to keep those dollars invested right here. During the meeting, Washington Commissioner Jake Anderson revealed a creative defense strategy. He is exploring whether the land the authority is already acquiring on the Washington side of the river can count as value against that $3.4 million price tag. It is a strategic, cross-border maneuver to satisfy federal rules without handing millions in straight cash over to the state of Oregon. Meanwhile, there's a physical roadblock to sort out. Across the river, the Port of Hood River has realized that early construction phases for the new bridge will force the physical demolition of our existing toll booths. The port is now scrambling to figure out how to keep collecting tolls, likely by installing emergency barriers to funnel the car closer to the electronic cameras. Any lost toll revenue during this awkward transition could be a serious threat to the region's financial baseline, just as the authority is seeking huge federal loans. Turning now to tribal treaty rights, the Umatella tribe and the Bridge Authority have officially signed a historic memorandum of agreement. But the Federal Highway Administration is hitting the pause button. Federal officials will not sign up on the paperwork until they have an ironclad guarantee that bridge construction will not block tribal members from accessing the White Salmon Tree fishing access site. So finally, let's look at the money in the calendar. This project is facing a terrifying deadline, one that if you've lived here, you've seen get pushed back already several times. So right now it stands at October 2026. If the authority cannot secure a full federal funding package by October, a fall 2027 construction start becomes nearly impossible due to strict environmental rules for working in the river. So to prevent that, authority delegates are flying to Washington, D.C. next month. Their goal? Convince the federal government to separate an $8 million congressional earmark from a larger stalled grant. If we unlock that $8 million now, it's critical to keeping the engineers working while they wait for the rest of the federal money to come through. So, what's next for those of us who cross the bridge every day? Watch out for late night bridge closures on April 3rd and 10th as crews replace expansion gaskets and expect a definitive update from the feds regarding grant money by July 1st. For all the details, a deeper breakdown of the funding strategy, links to the public meeting materials, I'll be sure to read the full text version of today's newsletter at schemaniadispatch.com. Today's audio briefing was also made possible in part by the Columbia Gorge Documenters, which is powered by Uplift Local. You've been listening to a production of opengorge.org, the home of the Schemania Dispatch and the Click of Tattler. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities. To support our work and stay up to date on everything happening in the gorge, head over to Schemaniadispatch.com to sign up for our newsletters. You can also find us on Facebook at Facebook.comslash open gorge. Join the conversation and share your thoughts on today's episode. Thanks for tuning in and we'll talk to you next time.