Oregon Building Trades leader Robert Camarillo welcomes union members to the Capitol Feb. 19, 2020.
Robert Camarillo, executive secretary of the Oregon Building Trades Council, has been named to the 32-member Interstate Bridge Replacement Community Advisory Group (CAG). The bi-state group will develop recommendations for replacing the aging I-5 bridge that spans the Columbia River between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. Governors and legislative leaders in both states directed their respective Transportation Departments to launch the program to lead the work.
A previous version of the bridge project was derailed in 2013 after the State of Washington failed to approve its share of the funding. Planning for the bridge replacement then known as the Columbia River Crossing had been ongoing for more than a decade, with nearly $200 million spent. Oregon tried to piece together a scaled down version, but that fizzled in 2014.