The $14.4 billion Interstate Bridge project received a federal record of decision on Wednesday, a major step that allows the project to move toward permitting, hiring a contractor and building the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River.

The decision completes the project’s lengthy federal environmental review process, which encompassed not just air and water but also cultural resources, safety and freight mobility, among myriad other factors. A final environmental Impact Statement was published April 17.

Now, the real work begins.

The Interstate Bridge program is preparing a request for qualifications to be issued in coming weeks to begin selecting a contractor, setting up a high-stakes bidding process likely to involve major international contractors and local partners.

A request for proposals will be issued later this year, with a contractor expected to be hired in 2027, the Interstate Bridge Program office stated.

For the construction industry, the project will be the largest in the Portland region in decades and dwarfs even other major infrastructure builds such as the $2.15 billion Portland International Airport expansion.

Contractors groups, including the Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia chapter, hailed the federal decision, which came from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

“AGC is very pleased with the decision to proceed with the Interstate Bridge replacement project,” said Josh Tompkins, CEO of the AGC Oregon-Columbia chapter, via text message.

“The project is critical for the future economic health of our region’s economy, will put thousands of Oregonians and Washingtonians to work and will inject very-welcome funds into our area,” Tompkins added.

The project comes amid a tepid time for the construction industry. Construction spending nationally fell 2.7 percent year to date through May, compared to the same period in 2025, according to Census Bureau data released Wednesday.

Highway construction held steady, with spending rising 0.6 percent in May to an annual rate of $150.6 billion.

The project involves not just the replacement for the aging twin-span Interstate Bridge, which was first built in 1917, with the second span added in 1958. It also calls for highway widening and expanding interchanges throughout a 5-mile corridor spanning Oregon and Washington. Construction will cause disruptions near Delta Park and Vanport and Hayden Island on the Oregon side, and the Vancouver waterfront and downtown on the Washington side. The work will require a massive influx of construction labor.

“With this approval, our focus is squarely on execution — advancing procurement and ensuring the systems and structures that mega-projects of this scale demand are in place as we transition to construction,” said Washington Transportation Secretary Julie Meredith.

Critics have questioned how the Oregon and Washington transportation departments will fully fund the project.

“What’s missing is still a plan to pay for the whole thing,” said Joe Cortright, an economist and founder of City Lab, a Portland-based think tank. “The project is moving ahead, they’re going to spend $5 billion, then they’re going to come back and say, ‘hey, you owe me another $10 billion to finish the job.’”

Cortright noted that the project is overwhelmingly planned by consultants for the Oregon Department of Transportation and Washington State Department of Transportation.

“They’re substantially independent from the two state DOTs, and they’ve designed a project that will go on for the next 20 years,” Cortright said. “As a semi-retired consultant, I have a sneaking admiration for the people who have lined up work for the next 20 years.”

Nevertheless, state leaders in Oregon and Washington lauded the federal announcement. After the failure of the Columbia River Crossing more than a decade ago, it’s looking increasingly likely that today’s state leaders may get this project built.

“Replacing the Interstate Bridge will have lasting benefits for our communities and region for decades,” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a prepared statement. “From improving safety and resilience for the region to creating tens of thousands of jobs and supporting local businesses, this project is key to our region’s growth. This milestone is proof of what Oregon and Washington can accomplish when we work together toward a shared goal.”

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson also said the project is “essential to Washington and Oregon.”

Interim IBR Program Administrator Carley Francis said the federal amended record of decision reflects years of study. “We now get to go do the work of actually building this bridge,” she said.

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Federal agencies have published the final supplemental environmental impact statement for the Interstate Bridge replacement project, a milestone that moves the potential $14.4 billion infrastructure package closer to construction.

The federal document lays out a modified locally preferred alternative centering on a single-level fixed-span bridge, an additional lane in each direction on Interstate 5, ramps to connect I-5 to downtown Vancouver, Washington and an extension of the MAX light-rail system into Vancouver.

The 944-page study from the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration examines various scenarios for building the bridge. The modified locally preferred alternative calls for two spans of three lanes each.

Two park-and-ride lots would be built to accommodate 1,270 vehicles. One would be near the planned Waterfront Station and another near the future Evergreen Station.

Industry groups hailed the step forward for the project, which Oregon and Washington leaders have been trying to move into construction for more than 20 years, dating to the Columbia River Crossing effort.

The final SEIS is a “key next step,” said Mike Salsgiver, executive director of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter.

The bridge replacement “is critical for the region’s safety, for the reliability of the transportation system and for the economic viability of the region,” Salsgiver said.

Funding is a looming challenge for the project as the price tag has ballooned. Oregon and Washington officials have narrowed their focus to replacing the two bridge spans, connecting I-5 and extending light rail into Vancouver. Those aspects would total $7.65 billion, officials from the two states revealed in March.

“Funding is always a challenge, so having a project of this magnitude depending on federal and state funding packages could definitely create some problems if it’s not handled well,” Salsgiver said.

Salsgiver is traveling this week to Washington, D.C., to discuss Interstate Bridge project funding and other matters with members of Oregon and Washington’s congressional delegations and Trump administration officials.

Project backers are trying to avoid a repeat of the federal government awarding funding and then pulling back, as occurred last year when President Donald Trump’s budget bill rescinded more than $400 million from the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project.

As part of the Interstate Bridge project’s narrower focus, the light rail extension has been pared back, from downtown Vancouver to an elevated station near the Columbia River’s edge.

Transit discussions remain ongoing between the two states and federal agencies, Salsgiver said.

“That policy ping-pong has been going back and forth for years,” he said. “They just need to address and resolve things in that arena. It’s definitely doable but will require some focus and dedication.”

Joe Cortright, a Portland economist and prominent critic of the Interstate Bridge replacement project, said the one described in the federal study cuts against reality.

“It’s basically an EIS for a project that they pretty much said they can’t build,” Cortright said.

He criticized project officials for moving forward before completing an investment-grade analysis. That report is expected to forecast traffic counts and toll revenues. The Oregon Department of Transportation is relying on 2019 traffic data, from before the pandemic changed commuting habits, Cortright said.

The project office reports 143,400 trips were taken daily in vehicles and all other modes in 2019.

“The traffic analysis is wrong and woefully outdated,” Cortright said. “Traffic has gone down since then.”

The tolling analysis is critical to the project’s financing, Cortright said.

“Basically, anything that isn’t paid for with tolls, the two states will have to pick up,” he said. “So, it has real financial implications.”

An investment-grade analysis would almost certainly show far less traffic on I-5 in a tolling scenario, Cortright said.

The report considers a long list of possible impacts. Among them: Construction would require the demolition of the Normandy Apartments, a building with 33 affordable units on Seventh Street in downtown Vancouver.

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site would also see some impacts from highway and bridge construction. Noise and views would be affected, and the project team would need to acquire 0.4 acres from the historic site along State Route 14 west of the Vancouver Land Bridge.

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Oregon and Washington state leaders on Tuesday released an updated price tag for the Interstate Bridge replacement project that fell closely in line with documents unearthed months ago by critics of the long-planned expansion.

The total cost estimate for the bridge and 5-mile corridor of Interstate 5 rose to $13.5 billion to $15.2 billion, with a “most likely cost” of $14.4 billion, according to a joint statement from state highway officials. That price tag lands within highway officials’ earlier estimated range of $12.2 billion to $17.7 billion.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson doubled down on their support for the project despite rising costs.

“We need a new bridge and it’s time to start building it,” Kotek expressed in the joint statement.

By focusing on “a core set of projects,” she stated, the states can deliver a “modern, earthquake-ready bridge, with no bridge lifts, less traffic congestion, extended light rail and better options for people walking and biking.”

Tuesday’s cost estimates were the first released by the two states since 2022, when program officials gauged the cost at $5 billion to $7.5 billion. Since then, construction costs have run hotter than overall inflation, mostly because of materials and labor and fluctuating tariffs.

The Interstate Bridge replacement (IBR) program team, made up of Oregon and Washington transportation departments, plans to hire a contractor in 2027 to complete design work. The bridge is regarded as at risk of collapse in a major earthquake.

“The bridge must, and will be replaced,” Ferguson stated. “Delaying a major project has never made costs go down. We’ve achieved important progress in the past year, and we will continue to move forward by focusing on the core mission of replacing the bridge.”

Highway officials and state leaders refocused Tuesday on the more modest goal of replacing the two bridge spans, connecting them to I-5 and extending light rail service to Vancouver. Those aspects would total $7.65 billion, according to the joint statement.

Light-rail service may be needed to access some federal funding, but some elected officials and residents in Vancouver have protested bringing Portland-based light rail to Southwest Washington.

Joe Cortright, an economist and director of Portland-based City Observatory who has been a persistent critic of the project, said the state transportation departments were misleading constituents by focusing on half of the project.

“The high-level bridge requires elevated freeways on both the Oregon and Washington sides of the river, with new interchanges elevated high into the air to reach the new roadway,” Cortright stated Tuesday. “ODOT and WSDOT have intentionally designed this so once you start, you must build everything. The reality is they’ll never stop with Phase I. Start construction and you’re signing up for $15 billion and 20 years of construction hell.”

The IBR program currently has $5.5 billion in available state and federal funds.

“This funding is sufficient to continue the states’ momentum and begin the construction process while working toward further improvements to the larger corridor on both sides of the bridge,” the team stated Tuesday.

Highway officials are pursuing an additional $1 billion in funding through the Federal Transit Administration‘s Capital Investment Grants program.

“Managing our risks, including schedule, is imperative,” ODOT interim Director Lisa Sumption stated. “We are committed to moving this program into construction and completing this critical infrastructure for our region and the economy.”

Contractors and union representatives have touted the project, saying it would bring huge economic benefits in wages and other spending.

“We’re pleased to see this part of this moving forward now, and it’s time to get this project built,” said Mike Salsgiver, executive director of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter.

He lamented that it’s taken so long to replace the aging bridge.

“It also demonstrates the cost of the delay,” he said. “If we’d done this 15 years ago, it probably would have cost less than $3 billion.”

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