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The Oregon Transportation Commission on Wednesday voted to approve allocation of $250 million for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project and proposed rules and rate setting for tolling.

In May and June, the Oregon Transportation Commission discussed ways to close the funding gap for Urban Mobility Strategy projects. One of the major ones is the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, which could cost between $1.5 billion and $1.9 billion and lacks full funding.

In May, the commission agreed to provide up to $250 million from House Bill 2017 to match up to $750 million in potential federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant funding, if the grant was received. The project, however, was not awarded the INFRA grant, Travis Brouwer, assistant director of revenue, finance and compliance for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said during Wednesday鈥檚 board meeting.

Yet the project in March was awarded a $450 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) grant for construction of the central portion of a highway cover.

Then on Wednesday the commission agreed to ODOT鈥檚 request to approve the $250 million investment in the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. The funding will go toward construction of the I-5 southbound auxiliary lane and the partial northbound auxiliary lane, extend the planned highway cover, as well as bridge work and stormwater improvements. Construction is now scheduled to start in 2025.

The $250 million would be covered by proceeds of ODOT鈥檚 highway user tax revenue bonds. ODOT will request legislative authorization in the 2025 bond bill. ODOT would then repay those bonds for 25 years through House Bill 2017 bridge/seismic funds, ODOT Urban Mobility Office manager Brendan Finn said.

Impacts of bonding would require canceling or delaying project phases in the 2024-2027 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), as discussed in June. ODOT will return before the commission as early as January for such actions. ODOT is looking at removing the $59 million Columbia Slough Bridge project in Portland from the next STIP term, which would delay replacement of the bridge.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hopeful we can contain the impacts to that one project,鈥� Finn said.

The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project will need at least $500 million in additional funding for crews to complete the highway cover (between Flint Avenue and Broadway), construct the Hancock Street crossing, complete multimodal local street improvements outside of RCN grant coverage, complete the northbound auxiliary lane and shoulder, construct the pedestrian and bicycle bridge, and relocate the I-5 southbound off-ramp and new flyover structure.

Next, ODOT plans to return before the commission in January for a STIP amendment for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project and again in July with a cost estimate.

The commission also approved rules on tolling. The rules were initially developed in 2023 and earlier this year. In March, Gov. Tina Kotek put a pause on tolling. In the months thereafter, ODOT examined the rules to determine which sections are needed to allow the commission to work with the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) to set toll rates and have Washington State Department of Transportation鈥檚 (WSDOT) Toll Division collect tolls for the Interstate Bridge replacement.

ODOT identified several sections that need to move forward in reduced-scope rulemaking, including those related to approving tollway projects, toll rate setting, and toll rate review. The rules approved Wednesday are the same as those the commission previewed last year, but with the removal of multiple sections related to tribal exemptions and low-income discounts, because these issues do not need to be addressed through rules at this time for tolling the Interstate Bridge replacement, ODOT stated in a staff report.

Additional rulemaking will be necessary in the future to officially set rates for the Interstate Bridge replacement. ODOT may also need to incorporate additional rules related to toll enforcement to ensure that WSDOT can effectively collect tolls levied on Oregonians, ODOT stated.

Next, ODOT will bring the Interstate Bridge replacement project team鈥檚 application for designation as a tollway project to the commission in January so that the toll rate setting process undertaken by the Oregon Transportation Commission and WSTC through the Bi-State Toll Subcommittee can continue. The commission could also direct ODOT to make additional modifications to the proposed rules prior to approval.