Initial construction of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is scheduled to begin next month despite the recent loss of $412.5 million in federal funding.

The Oregon Transportation Commission on Thursday authorized the estimated $75 million phase 1A to proceed. Construction is scheduled to begin on Aug. 25 and continue through fall 2026. That work will primarily be deferred maintenance and stormwater management. It will involve performing bridge rail retrofits, constructing stormwater treatment facilities for highway runoff to the Willamette River, handling roadway asphalt paving and lighting, installing signage and pavement markings, and building the southern portion of the southbound auxiliary lane between Interstate 84 and the Morrison Bridge.

Phase 1 is currently expected to cost around $549.75 million. Last year, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) received a $450 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant from the Federal Highway Administration. To date, $37.5 million has been obligated for preliminary engineering of phase 1 and relocating utilities. But the remaining $412.5 million was rescinded as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Trump earlier this month.

Approximately $146.8 million has been spent on the project to this point. Currently, there is around $303.1 million available, and that is expected to pay for professional engineering services tied to phase 1 ($51.3 million), property acquisition to gain right-of-way for phase 1 ($30.3 million), utility relocation for phase 1 ($9 million), all work in phase 1A ($75 million), and other phase 1 construction ($137.5 million).

The commission on Thursday authorized ODOT to continue design of phase 1. The work will involve building the southern portion of the highway cover (30 percent of the cover length) and multimodal improvements, completing the southbound auxiliary lane and shoulder from Interstate 405 to the Morrison Bridge exit, extending the northbound auxiliary lane and shoulder under the highway cover, installing signage for highway cover safety and construction, and widening Holladay/Hassalo Bridge, according to the project’s website. Construction is expected to start in early 2027 and finish in 2030.

Travis Brouwer, ODOT assistant director of revenue, finance and compliance, said the agency has enough money to complete phase 1A but not phase 1. There is $137.5 million available for phase 1, but construction of the highway cover is expected to cost from $400 million to $500 million. The $137.5 million will pay for construction of the northbound I-5 auxiliary lane between I-84 and the Weidler Road ramp.

The commission considered the option of pausing construction of phase 1A and seeing if funding will be made available for phase 1 by the Oregon Legislature but ultimately decided to move forward after weighing risks such as cost increases due to delays and possible lost revenue.

As part of Thursday’s action, ODOT will continue assessing cost reduction concepts to bring the total project budget within the $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion range.

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Design concepts for the highway cover portion of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project were discussed by stakeholders on Monday. Members of the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the Portland Bureau of Transportation and ZGF Architects held a work session with the Oregon Department of Transportation‘s Historic Albina Advisory Board and Community Oversight Advisory Committee. The meeting focused on how potential highway cover uses would relate to public spaces, adjacent uses and the surrounding street network.

ODOT will own the highway cover, but there will be opportunities for community-based organizations to own the buildings atop the cover.

Construction of Phase 1 of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project will include a portion of the highway cover. It will connect streets that are currently divided by Interstate 5 and add new land, allowing wider sidewalks and new spaces for community activities. Once built, the highway cover will be able to support buildings up to three stories, depending on the final design, according to the project’s website.

What will be built atop the highway cover will be determined through a public process in partnership with the city of Portland and ODOT. The process will include preferred opening-day and longer-term development concepts, street and path designs, and options for governance and financing. Then a Community Framework Agreement will be formed to guide future development of the highway cover. During the process of determining highway cover uses, input will be sought from the Black and Albina community through guidance from the project’s Historic Albina Advisory Board, the project’s website states.

During Monday’s meeting, Albina Vision Trust (AVT) Executive Director Winta Yohannes said the mission has been clear that the organization wants whatever ends up on the cover to create wealth, build community and celebrate culture. AVT also wants the spaces to be future-focused and multigenerational family friendly.

During previous meetings, two core concepts for the cover were reviewed. One was that the highway cover should be anchored to something related to health and wellness, such as a bridge to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, as well as provide connections to workforce opportunities and other sorts of possible partnerships. The other was the idea of creating more of a cultural district with some kind of anchor in the middle such as a performing arts center or Black history museum. What ultimately derived was the idea of a cultural district featuring a combination of those uses.

Design concepts being explored would maximize wealth creation for the community. They include a community-focused building connecting to the street, sidewalks on both sides, and a bike lane with a raised planter above the highway cover’s surface.

A bicycle network intersects the site, and public transit options exist; however, many people would likely arrive by car. But creation of a parking structure atop the highway cover would be a challenge, said Nolan Lienhart, a ZGF Architects principal and director of planning and urban design.

“There are some places on the cover where street parking could happen, but it would happen as a result of widening Williams (Avenue),” he said.

There may be ways to signify that the area where North Vancouver and Williams avenues intersect Broadway is a gateway to North Portland, Lienhart said. That could be signified with a sign, a gate structure, or public art pylons, he said.

As far as the possibility of monuments, feedback was that they do not build wealth for the community and that the design should include as much of the historical storytelling (monuments or art) in the public right-of-way or in public space not otherwise able to be used for wealth creation.

Other feedback included the desire for wider sidewalks and gathering spaces for larger groups.

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