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The Oregon Department of Transportation next month will hold a public hearing to receive testimony on exempting the massive I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project from normal competitive bidding procedures.

The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. on Feb. 6, in Salem, at the ODOT procurement office, 3930 Fairview Industrial Drive S.E. Both oral and written testimony will be accepted at the hearing, which will cover ODOT’s draft findings in support of the exemption. ODOT wishes to use the construction manager-general contractor method, which would allow the agency to negotiate directly with contractors.

ODOT plans to spend up to $450 million on the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, which is currently in an environmental study and public engagement stage. Environmental study findings will be published in February, with a 30-day public comment period to follow. More design work and community involvement will continue thereafter.

The project is the brainchild of ODOT, the city of Portland and community interests. Over 70 options were examined before the current concept was recommended to address long-standing traffic issues in the area.

Currently, the project team is continuing to study and design improvements to local streets near the Broadway-Weidler interchange and the critical stretch of Interstate 5 between I-84 and I-405 in Portland.

Project features include: highway covers, a new bridge and paths for bicyclists and pedestrians, transit access improvements, a new connection for North Hancock and Dixon streets over I-5, relocation of an I-5 southbound on-ramp, new ramp-to-ramp auxiliary lanes for I-5 and widened I-5 shoulders.