The Oregon governor placed a moratorium on using tolls to raise money for bridge projects, but more is still being done to get another bridge project moving. Last year, Washington state lawmakers committed $1 billion toward constructing a new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River. Now, Oregon’s Legislature has made a matching contribution from the State’s general fund. Working with another state may be the answer in securing federal funds.
The Rose Quarter Improvement Project in Portland has stalled due to funding issues as the project’s budget increases. That area of the I-5 freeway needs improvement. The bridge connecting Oregon and Washington, however, is in major focus now as it effects several states and other countries. This bridge is the only spot on I-5 from Mexico to Canada where cars have to stop for boat traffic, which can create huge freeway backups and delays.
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has been relying on plans to toll Portland-area highways in order to pay for local capital projects like the Rose Quarter and the second phase of its plan to widen parts of I-205 through Clackamas County. The price tags for these two projects are $1.3 billion and $550 million, respectively.
Washington State is serious as Oregon became conservative when looking at capital outlays for bridge projects. Oregon’s Governor Tina Kotek recently decreed ODOT pause toll collection efforts until at least 2026. A finance plan for ODOT’s Urban Mobility Strategy was created upon Kotek’s request. She wanted the agency to lay out an updated finance plan for Portland-area projects that ODOT was relying on tolling revenue to fund.
In addition to the tolling moratorium, the report also points to “very high inflation in highway construction across the country.” In the draft plan, ODOT asked the Oregon Transportation Commission to assist with making the Rose Quarter Improvement Project “competitive for future funding opportunities and eventual construction.”
Federal funding through grants are still viable for the Rose Quarter Improvement Project. ODOT is requesting support so that the project could win federal grants like the one ODOT was denied earlier this year (USDOT’s Reconnecting Communities grant program). While some were happy about the delay, others in the community was unhappy that the Rose Quarter project had been delayed.
A narrow form of environmental issues was pushed to delay or stop the Portland bridge project. But, some others were looking at righting racialized environmental wrongs as to why the project should move forward. The prime contractor for construction on the I-5 Rose Quarter Highway project is Raimore Construction. The company is Black-owned with a record of high quality work and having a diverse workforce. Living wage jobs and real business opportunities for Blacks historically displaced and denied opportunities is the environmental racism that Raimore and other community leaders and workers have pushed forward.
For the I-5 bridge connecting Washington and Oregon, officials still must seek federal grants to complete the $5 billion and $7.5 billion project. Hope came through in the last few days of Oregon’s legislative session. Lawmakers authorized paying $1 billion over the next eight years toward replacing the I-5 bridge between Portland and Vancouver. The Pacific Northwest states can seek grant money from the federal government as a team which makes the application for federal funds much more competitive.
Unity with such a project usually works. With Oregon’s $1 billion added to Washington’s, the project will now seek federal grants of up to $3 billion. Federal grants may be awarded as early as next January and construction could start the year after that.
