The Metro Council has reallocated some Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan (MTIP) funds to keep I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project construction advancing in Portland. The action ultimately stems from the rescindment last year of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal grant funding.

The council on Thursday approved an amendment to the 2024-2027 MTIP for three Rose Quarter projects. The first includes development and right-of-way efforts, relocation of utilities, and acquisition of permanent signs and software. The second includes construction of stormwater facilities, a structural deck overlay, bridge rail upgrades, and seismic retrofits for two bridges. The third includes Holladay/Hassalo bridge work, construction of another structural deck overlay, replacement of bridge and median rail, a seismic retrofit, signage upgrades, retaining wall and embankment work, and reconstruction of local street and light rail facilities.

The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project involves construction of a cover over Interstate 5, a new crossing on Hancock Street atop the cover, multimodal local street improvements, an auxiliary lane and wider shoulders, a pedestrian and bicycle bridge on I-5, and relocation of an I-5 southbound off-ramp further south. The total project is being designed and constructed in phases.

“This amendment is important but is primarily administrative to align our project programming with the funding realities of the rescinded Reconnecting Communities (and Neighborhoods) grant and (the project’s) phasing,” said Monica Blanchard, interim program director of the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The MTIP amendment is in alignment with the Oregon Transportation Commission‘s aim to maintain continuous construction, Blanchard said. The OTC approved a similar amendment to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program in May.

The total net decrease in the MTIP is approximately $382.2 million, mostly because of the rescindment of Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) grant funding, said Gabriela Lopez, senior transportation planner for Metro.

The formal amendment decreases the total programmed funding from approximately $872 million to approximately $489.8 million, a staff report states. Approximately $67.5 million in RCN funds previously obligated are available for preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation activities.

The MTIP amendment redistributes funds from other project phases, including $3 million from Phase 1 construction to preliminary engineering, and $18 million from Phase 1 to Phase 1A (currently 40 percent complete). Also, the construction phase of the Broadway to Weidler Phase 1 project has decreased by approximately $402.9 million, including reallocation of $21 million to preliminary engineering and Phase 1A construction.

The total project has increased in Phase 1 from $247.6 million to $250.3 million, increased in Phase 1A from $75 million to $93 million, and decreased in Phase 1B from $549.4 million to $146.5 million.

Looking ahead, ODOT plans to continue to seek funding for construction of Phase 1C. That work would include extending the northbound merging lane, completing the southbound merging lane, building the southern portion of the highway cover, and performing the full Broadway/Weidler build-out.

Additional work beyond Phase 1C is unfunded and would include building the remaining two-thirds of the highway cover, multimodal improvements, the I-5 flyover, the pedestrian/bicycle bridge, northbound merge lane and I-5 bridge work.

According to the project’s website, the current cost estimate for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is between $1.96 billion and $2.08 billion.

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