July Email Update

In this issue

• Community Advisory Committee hears a project update and learns about workforce and business opportunities
• ODOT issues Notice of Intent to Award, takes step toward unlocking the project’s economic opportunity
• Sliding into Summer: Engagement in Virtual Spaces
• Community Opportunity Advisory Committee will meet online August 13
• Rose Quarter underground: Looking at conditions from the bottom up

Community Advisory Committee hears a project update and learns about workforce and business opportunities

The Project Community Advisory Committee (CAC) met online on July 23, 2020. ODOT Office of Urban Mobility Director Brendan Finn expressed gratitude for the committee members’ service to the Project and stated that partnerships with and support from our Black community is core to Project’s success. Brendan said that the Project cannot be successful without acknowledging past harm to the African American community. The committee also heard from Megan Channell, Project Director, who summarized CAC input from the last CAC meeting, including the importance of wealth generation and investing in the Black community, the need for open and public communication throughout the Project, and questions about the scope of the project. Megan previewed an example Community Accountability Matrix that will soon be available on the Project’s website to help the committee and community members hold ODOT accountable by tracking committee requests.

The CAC brings community interests and experience into the Project’s decision-making process. CAC meetings are open to the public and include a public comment period. Click below for information about the CAC’s past and future meetings. View a video of the meeting and download materials at the project website.

The next CAC Meeting will be on Thursday, August 20, 2020 from 5:30 to 8:00pm.

Learn more about upcoming CAC meetings

ODOT issues Notice of Intent to Award, takes step toward unlocking the project’s economic opportunity

On July 13th, ODOT announced the notice of intent to award the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) contract to Hamilton Sundt, a Joint Venture, in association with Raimore Construction to help design and build the project. ODOT is bringing a construction team on board early in the design phase to ensure the design and construction benefits from full collaboration with the community. With a focus on restorative justice, the project is committed to leveraging deep ties with the historic Albina community to ensure meaningful involvement from the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contracting community and using input from the community to help shape the project and outcomes for the community including generational wealth. The CM/GC is expected to join the team this Fall. Read the Press Release

Sliding into Summer: Engagement in Virtual Spaces

While community engagement for the Project has been ongoing since the 1990s, we know that there is still a lot of work to do. ODOT is committed to ensuring Black community members living, working, or with historical ties to the Albina neighborhood and broader N/NE Portland are engaged, participating in and actively shaping the Project. This summer and into fall, you will see us online and actively and meaningfully engaging with people, with a focus on the Black community. We will use traditional and creative engagement techniques such as mailers and phone calls and working with community-based organizations and faith-based communities to meet communities where they are. We want to foster a two-way dialogue that demonstrates how these conversations inform decision-making. Through our outreach, we commit to reflecting the shared power of our community and local, regional, and state government to influence project decisions and outcomes. We want you to hold us accountable for those outcomes. To do so, we are going to bring people with diverse backgrounds and expertise together to gain understanding and input and to ensure the Project addresses past harm and present and future local, regional and state transportation system needs in a way that enables communities to thrive. We’ll be sharing information on the Project and upcoming events throughout the summer and fall in the mail, on our website, and in social media platforms. Stay tuned and please share these opportunities with your friends, colleagues, and networks – we need your help to make this a project for our community, by our community. Learn more about Events

Community Opportunity Advisory Committee will meet online August 13

The public is invited to attend the next I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project Community Opportunity Advisory Committee meeting. On Thursday, August 13, the Community Opportunity Advisory Committee will meet online from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. See the Project’s website for more information on the meeting’s agenda and how to engage.

Learn more about upcoming COAC meetings

Rose Quarter underground: Looking at conditions from the bottom up

ODOT contractor crews are out in the Project area to collect critical data to inform Project design. Three types of separate field work are scheduled to take place:

Learn more about work hours and traffic noise impacts

About the Project

The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project adds auxiliary lanes and shoulders to reduce congestion and improve safety on the main north-south freeway on the west coast and redesigns the local multimodal street network. The project will smooth traffic flow on I-5 between I-84 and I-405 where three interstates intersect and feature the biggest traffic bottleneck in Oregon. The project will also improve community connections by redesigning overpasses and reconnecting neighborhood streets, enhancing public spaces, and promoting economic development opportunities.

Learn more about the project and sign up for email updates at: 

www.i5RoseQuarter.org

In response to Governor Kate Brown’s directive to “Stay Home, Save Lives,” all Project public meetings are being held on a virtual platform. We are committed to maintaining accessibility and transparency for all public meetings. Look to the Project website for opportunities to get involved. Visit the agency’s COVID-19 web page for more information.

For ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) or Civil Rights Title VI accommodations, translation/interpretation services, or more information call 503-731-4128, TTY 800-735- 2900 or Oregon Relay Service 7-1-1.

Si desea obtener información sobre este proyecto traducida al español, sírvase llamar al 503-731-4128.

Nếu quý vị muốn thông tin về dự án này được dịch sang tiếng Việt, xin gọi 503-731-4128.

Если вы хотите чтобы информация об этом проекте была переведена на русский язык, пожалуйста, звоните по телефону 503-731-4128.

如果您想瞭解這個項目，我們有提供繁體中文翻譯，請致電：503-731-4128。

如果您想了解这个项目，我们有提供简体中文翻译，请致电：503-731-4128。