I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project Secures Sufficient Funding to Begin Construction

Oregon Transportation Commission supplements unprecedented federal investment to deliver major benefits of project

For immediate release: December 4, 2024

For more information, please contact Rose Gerber, 503-779-6927, Rose.Gerber@odot.oregon.gov.

Salem, Ore— The Oregon Transportation Commission today allocated $250 million to the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. Combined with existing funding and a recently secured federal grant of $450 million, the project now has $850 million – sufficient funding to begin construction and deliver many of the project’s most critical improvements.

Construction will begin in summer 2025.

“The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project has been in development for a generation,” said ODOT’s Urban Mobility Office Director Brendan Finn. “I am so proud we can now start construction on this critical investment in the community, in improving safety, and in operational efficiency.”

The $250 million allocated today was originally dedicated by the commission to the Rose Quarter project. The Commission redirected that funding to the I-205 Abernethy Improvement Project in 2022 to jumpstart construction on that critical earthquake safety project. At that time, the Abernethy Project was further along in design and more ready for construction. Tolling was envisioned as a central funding component of the Abernethy Bridge. With tolling postponed, and with this funding transitioning from Abernethy, the Abernethy Bridge project will rely more on funding from ODOT’s dedicated bridge funding program.

The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project has had a string of successes in 2024 that have made the project ready for construction. After ODOT made a series of community-inspired revisions to the scope of the project, major partners including the City of Portland, Metro and Albina Vision Trust endorsed the full project. In the spring, the federal government approved the project’s Supplemental Environmental Assessment giving the project the legal approval to begin construction. Lastly, the federal government invested $450 million in the project through the Reconnecting Communities program. This grant gives ODOT, the agency’s Historic Albina Advisory Board, and Albina Vision Trust, the agency’s essential community partner in securing that grant, the ability to deliver on many of the core community reconnection aspects of the project.

With the funding now available, ODOT can build the central core of the planned highway cover, build the full southbound auxiliary lane and shoulder from I-405 to the Morrison Bridge exit, extend an initial portion of the northbound auxiliary lane and shoulder under the highway cover, complete bridge work in the southern project area, and construct storm water facilities near I-405.

“I want to thank the commission for standing by this project through difficult times, the Oregon Legislature for its original investment, and our partners for helping us design a truly extraordinary project,” said ODOT Director Kris Strickler. “ODOT is committed to delivering this project in full. We will ensure our construction allows for future improvements as funding becomes available. We look forward to working with the Oregon Legislature during the 2025 legislative session to identify additional funding to finish the complete project.”