More money sought for North Portland highway cover

With the award earlier this year of a $450 million federal grant, the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project team is now looking for even more money.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is pursuing a $750 million Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). The grant money would pay for the remaining construction cost of the highway cover currently in design as well as Interstate 5 safety and operational improvements and a separate bridge for bicyclists and pedestrians

The grant would include up to $250 million in state matching funds. ODOT has submitted the most competitive application possible, according to Megan Channell, the agency’s Rose Quarter project director, and expects to hear back from USDOT on the grant award sometime in early fall.

ODOT is also developing a formal grant agreement with the Federal Highway Administration for the $450 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) grant received in March. It’s expected to be finalized by late summer or early fall. That money will pay for initial construction of the highway cover, Channell said.

The total project cost is currently estimated between $1.5 billion and $1.9 billion. During the Oregon Transportation Commission ’s meeting earlier this month, Brendan Finn, director of ODOT’s Urban Mobility Office , shared that the project faces a funding gap as much as $1.3 billion, depending on the outcome of the INFRA grant application and the final project cost.

This fall, after learning whether the project receives the INFRA grant and completing the RCN grant agreement with USDOT, the Urban Mobility Office will update the project’s cost estimate, which is dependent on timing and availability of funds, Channell stated in an email.

The project team plans to explore opportunities for phasing which could reduce costs by accelerating construction as well as potential modifications to the project scope.

“The updated cost estimate will provide a range of potential additional investments needed to complete the project,” Channell stated in an email. “This will help inform legislative discussions in the 2025 session, as well as commission actions.”

The remaining funding gap could be closed through some combination of additional tax revenue, funding provided by the Oregon Transportation Commission in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), and possibly tolls.

Project design is ongoing. The project team includes an owner’s representative team led by David Evans and Associates ; civil engineer and architect HDR ; and construction manager/general contractor Hamilton/Sundt, a Joint Venture in association with Raimore Construction . Each team has several subconsultants working on the project.

The project has three early work packages that include work in the area between Lillis-Albina Park and the Interstate 405 interchange, between North Russell Street and North Flint Street, and between the Interstate 84 interchange and the Moda Center . These packages are about 90 percent designed. The main construction package, which includes the highway cover and local street improvements, is about 30 percent designed.

ODOT has been working closely with Albina Vision Trust , looking to help revitalize the North Portland community that was destroyed by the original construction of I-5, Channell said, adding that the partnership has been positive and collaborative.

JT Flowers, strategic communications and government relations director with Albina Vision Trust, said there have been ups and downs during development of the project but the organization is encouraged to see how the team has recentered its focus on restoring a community that was severed.

The highway cover will hold buildings as tall as three stories in the central portion and more open space and shorter buildings on the edges. These structures could include community centers, day care centers, libraries, cafes, museums, etc., Flowers said.

Leases of developed space atop the covers would likely take place years from now, Flowers said. In March, the Oregon Transportation Commission passed a resolution for ODOT and Albina Vision Trust to develop a work plan to explore governance options of the highway cover.

Ericka Warren, facilitator of the Historic Albina Advisory Board , stated in an email that the 14-member group has influenced the highway cover’s design . Additionally, the board has contributed to rebranding the I-5 Rose Quarter project to better reflect the values of the Albina community, Warren stated.

Currently, the board is discussing how the highway cover and other project elements will be developed, with a focus on aligning their uses with the community’s needs and goals for economic development and job creation, Warren stated.

“What’s encouraging about the moment we’re in right now is we’ve finally been able to build a general sense of momentum and consensus on the fact that government has a responsibility to not just acknowledge the systemic type of harm that a transportation structure can reap upon communities when things are built without intention, but that government also has a responsibility to play an active role in healing and restoring that harm,” Flowers said.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation has seen the benefits of sustainable urban transportation options in city neighborhoods and has been urging since at least 2017 for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project to rebuild the urban street grid that was destroyed by construction of I-5, PBOT spokesman Dylan Rivera stated in an email.

“With the highway cover and reconnected street grid that the city and Albina Vision Trust and community partners have been advocating for, the I-5 Rose Quarter Project could be a national model for how federal support can help heal communities that were destroyed by the construction of interstate highways,” he stated.

ODOT expects to begin constructionby2027 and possibly sooner.

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