Construction on the $1.5-$1.9 billion I-5 Rose Quarter Project in Oregon begins this summer, addressing traffic congestion and safety issues. The project includes a new highway cover, roadway crossings, ramp improvements, and focus on diverse workforce opportunities. Efforts aim to reconnect the historic Albina neighborhood and enhance urban connectivity.
Oregon Department of Transportation photo
An aerial view of the area of Interstate 5 that the Rose Quarter Project will address.
Construction on Oregon's Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Project is set to begin this summer on what could ultimately be a $1.5-$1.9 billion effort to remedy the worst bottleneck in the state.
The project includes Oregon's first highway cover, new roadway crossings over I-5, a car-free bridge, street improvements for "walking, biking and rolling," new ramp-to-ramp connections, a ramp relocation and wider shoulders.
The primary contractor is Hamilton/Sundt Joint Venture (HSJV) in association with Raimore Construction
The project was given the greenlight after the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) allocated $250 million to the project in December. Combined with $450 million awarded from the federal government in March and other grants — which brought available funding to $850 million — that was sufficient to begin work on significant components of the 1.8-mi. stretch of highway.
"For the 2025 construction start, we are focused on project elements that are shovel-ready and can get us to construction quickly, and with a focus on elements that maximize opportunities for disadvantaged business enterprises and a diverse workforce," said Megan Channell, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Rose Quarter project director. "The 2025 construction package will include stormwater improvements on the north side of the project and then bridge preservation components on the south end of the project.
"What I think is exciting about these is we're leveraging the projects with what we call the mini CMGC — mini construction management general contractor — approach. That means that our contractor is bringing on disadvantaged business enterprises to serve in a mini prime capacity for elements of this work so that they can be mentored and provided technical assistance along the way. So, that when they are done with this particular package on the Rose Quarter, they'll be better suited to have additional skill sets and capacity and indigenous acumen for success, not only in future business with ODOT, but future business in the region and the state."
Efforts to relieve traffic congestion and safety issues in the Rose Quarter, a site where three major interstates converge, have been ongoing since 2017 when the Oregon State Legislature directed ODOT to address congestion in the area.
"This 1.8-mile stretch of highway is the only two-lane section of I-5 in a major urban area between Canada and Mexico," according to the ODOT website. "It has the highest crash rate on any urban interstate in Oregon and is the state's top traffic bottleneck."
It's also the 28th-worst freight bottleneck in the nation. It has some of the most used pedestrian and bicycle crossings in the area, along with use by the Portland Streetcar, Trimet's Max System and the Rose Quarter Transit Center, as well as the Moda Center, which attracts 1.5 million people to Trailblazers' games annually, Channell said.
"So, all that is to say there's a lot happening in this area, and one of the challenges for us is to make sure that we are being as quick and efficient as possible with construction but also balancing that with making sure we are limiting as best we can the impact to the traveling public and people utilizing this space," Channell said. "That's a balance that remains a challenge for us as we look towards the construction."
While the primary goal of the project is to alleviate congestion and accidents, of equal importance is to reconnect the historic neighborhood of Albina.
"In the 1950s and 1960s, the federal government, working with state and local governments, transformed the way Americans travel," according to the project website. "Together, they built an interstate highway system connecting people and goods from across the country.
"But there were problems with how that system was built that continue to this day. In Portland, governments chose a path for the new I-5 freeway that went directly through the heart of the Albina community. This destroyed hundreds of homes, predominantly owned by Black Portlanders, and severed a thriving community from the river and itself."
The I-5 Rose Quarter Project aims to repair the division in part through the state's first highway cover, about a quarter of a mile in length.
"It will provide roadway connections on top, but it's also providing about four acres of new land over I-5 that can support up to three-story buildings in much of the area," Channell said. "This new land that's being created for future development to help reconnect the lower Albina area is serving as a catalyst for kind of a broader district vision that's being led by our partners at Albina Vision Trust for a restorative redevelopment component of nearly 100 acres of this area for which the highway cover is within.
"As someone walking, biking or rolling across, the future I-5 with a highway cover won't feel like you're crossing an interstate. It'll feel like you are seamlessly connected with the central Portland community."
The state's initial estimate for completion of the highway cover is about 2030, but Channell said that could change as funding as additional funding is madeavailable. CEG
Lori Tobias
Lori Tobias is a journalist of more years than she cares to count, most recently as a staff writer for The Oregonian and previously as a columnist and features writer for the Rocky Mountain News. She is the author of the memoir, Storm Beat - A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast, and the novel Wander, winner of the Nancy Pearl Literary Award in 2017. She has freelanced for numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Denver Post, Alaska Airlines in-flight, Natural Home, Spotlight Germany, Vegetarian Times and the Miami Herald. She is an avid reader, enjoys kayaking, traveling and exploring the Oregon Coast where she lives with her husband Chan and rescue pups, Gus and Lily.
Read more from Lori Tobias here.
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