VANCOUVER, Wash. A new lawsuit seeks to block the current fixed-span design of the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, arguing that its planned 116-foot vertical navigation clearance would restrict river navigation and upriver industrial activity, The Center Square reported.

The plaintiff, Iron Partners LLC, owns a building on Vancouver's industrial waterfront and operates water-dependent industrial and heavy equipment facilities on the Columbia River. The company says it has fabricated large structures for decades, including offshore drilling platforms, bridge components and missile-defense parts, and contends a 116-foot fixed span is inadequate for the operations that pass beneath the bridge.

The suit, filed against the program's federal lead agencies, the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, argues the span would create an unreasonable obstruction to navigation under the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and the General Bridge Act of 1946. The company is asking the court for an injunction to stop current construction plans.

State Rep. John Ley, a Vancouver Republican and outspoken critic of the project, told The Center Square that the clearance would be 62 feet lower than the current bridge and that not all upriver firms were promised mitigation. He said an agreement announced about a year ago promised a total of $141 million to four upriver firms, with Thompson Metal Fab receiving the largest share, but Iron Partners was not among them.

Ley said he believes the company waited until a record of decision was issued on July 1 before filing suit. He pointed to an architect's alternative concept with up to 144 feet of clearance at an estimated cost of roughly $3 billion to $4 billion, and said ongoing litigation could affect the project's anticipated 2028 construction start, though he acknowledged the timing is uncertain.

According to the lawsuit, the Coast Guard determined in 2022 that 116 feet would create an unreasonable obstruction, then later approved the lower height without public comment. The Center Square has reported the price tag for the current design, including light rail over the span, has grown to between $13 billion and $15 billion, and that program officials have proposed building in phases, with a first phase of $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion while remaining $2.2 billion short.

The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program told The Center Square by email that it cannot comment on active litigation.