Mayor Sam Adams just released his response to yesterday's letter from the Oregon and Washington Governors which said basically, "CRC OR BUST!"

Adams' says their gung ho sentiment and plan to convene an expert panel on the Columbia River Crossing bridge project are "disappointing." From his letter:

We are asking for due diligence, not a do-over. We understand that time is of the essence. But we’re not asking for unlimited time.

The work we are requesting can be completed within a few months if we move forward together. And we do have some time. In the words of Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR as quoted in a February 12 Oregonian editorial, “There’s no sense of urgency about the Columbia River Crossing because there’s no pot of money available.”

More from his letter below the cut!

While the four of us do believe the project will benefit from fresh eyes, a review panel was not necessarily what we were seeking when we sent a letter to our Governors. We are willing to work with such a panel. But, we have other procedural and substantive requests that demand more meaningful local engagement. Several items need additional work, specifically:

•Tightening up the analysis of freight needs in the bridge area and targeting freight-dedicated infrastructure to specifically address those needs;
•Better understanding (through limited additional modeling) of the potential for sprawl on both sides of the river;
•Engaging a third-party consultant with urban freeway expertise to ensure we’re applying state-of-the-art problem-solving to the uniquely urban set of challenges posed by this project; and
•Developing a transparent cost/benefit analysis that addresses concerns repeatedly raised by our respective jurisdictions.

We are asking for due diligence, not a do-over. We understand that time is of the essence. But we’re not asking for unlimited time.

The work we are requesting can be completed within a few months if we move forward together. And we do have some time. In the words of Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR as quoted in a February 12 Oregonian editorial, “There’s no sense of urgency about the Columbia River Crossing because there’s no pot of money available.”