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The proposed Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge replacement project has received federal approval to advance to final design and construction permitting.

The $1.12 billion Columbia River bridge project spanning Oregon and Washington received a record of decision on Tuesday from the Federal Highway Administration, closing out National Environmental Policy Act obligations.

鈥淲hat it means is that we have finalized the NEPA process and the project can move forward into final design right away and construction,鈥� Michael Shannon, bridge replacement project director, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Kiewit Corp., the project’s design-build contractor, is on track to hit the 60 percent design level next summer, with a final set of construction plans expected to be ready in spring 2027, Shannon said.

If anticipated funding falls into place, construction would follow in October 2027, Shannon said.

鈥淭hat is dependent on securing the final federal funding for the project,鈥� he said.

The project team is awaiting a decision on Bridge Investment Program funds. Project officials have requested $530 million from the program, which is administered by the Federal Highway Administration.

The total price tag includes planning and construction and encompasses about $180 million in contingency funding, Shannon said.

This bridge replacement project appears to be moving smoothly toward construction while other major infrastructure plans have been stymied by delayed or canceled funding.

As part of major legislation, President Donald Trump earlier this year rescinded $412.5 million for the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. Other projects across the nation have likewise not received expected funding.

Shannon said he had no concerns about the Trump administration’s willingness to fund the Hood River–White Salmon Interstate Bridge replacement.

鈥淲e got notification that we met the screening criteria for projects under the new administration,鈥� he said.

The project was 鈥渉ighly recommended,鈥� Shannon said. 鈥淭he project (team) has done everything it can to be positioned to accept award,鈥� he added.

The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge proposal meets a key threshold, Shannon said: Requested federal funding is less than 50 percent of the project’s total cost. Oregon and Washington have each agreed to chip in $125 million.

The new bridge would replace the existing span, which opened in December 1924. The new bridge would sit slightly west of the current bridge and include two 12-foot vehicle lanes, two 8-foot shoulders and a 12-foot shared-use path for bicycles and pedestrians. Vehicles would be tolled.

The proposed bridge’s 90-foot vertical clearance has been preliminarily approved by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The replacement bridge 鈥渨ould meet current design standards to be seismically sound under a 1,000-year seismic event and operational under a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake,鈥� the record of decision states.

Indeed, seismic concerns were a driving force behind the project. The current bridge sits on a sandy, silty layer that is vulnerable to liquefaction.

鈥淚t is more susceptible to earthquake than we had thought before,鈥� Shannon said.

The bridge project exemplifies the public-sector work that has buoyed the construction industry while interest rates remain high, private lenders exercise caution, and some types of commercial real estate suffer from oversupply and high vacancy rates.

鈥�Infrastructure funding has been a major source of stability for the construction industry over the past few years,鈥� Macrina Wilkins, a researcher for the Associated General Contractors of America, wrote in an email on Wednesday. 鈥淏ridge, highway and other projects supported by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (and related federal programs) have kept contractors busy and work flowing into the pipeline, even as concerns about labor shortages and economic uncertainty persisted.鈥�

Contractors are 鈥渆ager to undertake鈥� projects like the Hood River鈥揥hite Salmon Interstate Bridge replacement 鈥渆specially in the face of softer private demand,鈥� Wilkins added.

Still, Wilkins stated, contractors should prepare for a leveling off in public infrastructure work: Highway and street spending fell 0.9 percent nationally in August, compared to a year earlier.

鈥淚nfrastructure investments are still supporting the industry, just not at the unusually elevated pace we saw earlier in the (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) rollout,鈥� Wilkins wrote.