News

The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project makes progress toward construction

View of I-5 through Rose Quarter Project area next to sketch of the same area with the highway cover.

Sept. 10, 2024

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

PORTLAND — New federal funding and approvals from the federal government, regional councils and the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) have charted a path forward for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. The project is closer than ever to reconnecting the historic Albina community and improving travel conditions in the Portland metro region. 

In March, the project received a $450 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant award which will allow finishing the design and constructing the core part of the project’s highway cover. The planned cover over I-5 will support community reconnection and create new community space and future development opportunities for the Albina community. Also in March, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) granted its environmental review approval for the project. This means ODOT has federal approval to proceed with the project and can continue moving forward with more detailed project design. 

Project partners, federal USDOT representatives and community leaders gather to celebrate the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant awarded to the project in March. 

In August, Metro Council and the OTC unanimously approved adding the $450 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant award into the 2024-27 Metro Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) and Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). These required approvals illustrate the consensus to move forward and allow ODOT to use the grant money received. 

Finally, the project was joined by multiple regional partners and community organizations in applying for a US Department of Transportation Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant and is currently awaiting an announcement. The ODOT INFRA grant requested funding for completion of the highway cover, starting the I-5 mainline safety and operational improvements, relocating the I-5 southbound off-ramp and constructing a bicycle pedestrian bridge. View the grant application and letters of support online. 

With substantial federal funding already secured, construction could begin by 2026.