The contractor leading the approximately $700 million Interstate 205-Abernethy Bridge project had a history of subpar evaluations before a “near fatality” incident in which a work vehicle backed over a worker, according to Oregon Department of Transportation documents.

Construction giant Kiewit scored negative marks on four consecutive annual ODOT evaluations dating to the beginning of work in 2022-23. Its most recent score for work in 2025-26 was its worst yet: a -36. The evaluation uses a baseline of zero.

The annual evaluations, obtained by the 91��Ƶ through a public records request, also give new details on a series of safety incidents that have plagued the project. On Feb. 4, a work vehicle backed over a worker, resulting in a “near fatality,” according to the May 2026 evaluation. The victim endured a lengthy hospitalization, ODOT program manager Vidal Francis said at a June public meeting.

Additionally, an excavator bucket struck an employee on April 23. And a Kiewit employee piloting a skiff hit a pile and fell into the Willamette River, requiring rescue. No date was given for the boating incident, and details of injuries in the incidents were not available.

“Safety is fundamental to how we operate,” Kiewit spokeswoman Teresa Shada stated in an email. “We investigate and review incidents, injuries and near misses because every event presents an opportunity to learn, strengthen our operations and, where necessary, make changes to help prevent similar events in the future. We take every incident seriously and remain committed to protecting our employees, subcontractors, project partners and members of the public.”

The 2026 evaluation is not final; Kiewit has an opportunity to meet with the state construction administrator. Also, the 2025 evaluation was “was not formally submitted by (ODOT)” for “administrative reasons,” according to an ODOT records official.

“T��� Abernethy Bridge project is a technically complex infrastructure project that has required ODOT to direct significant scope changes throughout construction, resulting in a substantial number of change orders,” Shada stated. “While the ODOT project evaluations are one input into project performance and the scoring is currently under appeal, we continue working collaboratively with ODOT to address challenges and safely deliver this important project.”

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division has an open inspection regarding the Feb. 4 incident and cannot release further details at this time, OSHA spokesman Aaron Corvin stated in an email on Thursday.

The project’s contractor is Kiewit Infrastructure West, a subsidiary of Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit Corp. It’s one of the nation’s largest contractors.

Kiewit has faced scrutiny elsewhere. The contractor was recently dropped from the multibillion-dollar project to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after it was struck by a tanker and collapsed in March 2024. Kiewit’s bid came in at least $20 million higher than competitors’, the .

In Oregon, the Abernethy Bridge upgrade is the largest ODOT-led project in decades. The bridge between Oregon City and West Linn is being buttressed and widened. Massive supports are being built under the bridge, which is being widened to accommodate additional traffic. When completed, the bridge will be expected to survive a major earthquake.

“This project is complex and the contractor has faced challenges since construction began in 2022,” ODOT spokesman David House stated in an email. “T��� ODOT team and contractor are doing our best to manage schedule and cost risks.”

Several challenges lie ahead for the project that could increase costs and delay completion, which is now scheduled for winter 2027, House added.

Kiewit Infrastructure West was chosen in May 2022 to lead the project after competitive bidding. Construction began in June of that year.

Kiewit initially earned a -8 score on ODOT’s evaluation for 2022-23. That was followed by a -31 score for 2023-24, a -21 for 2024-25 and a -36 for 2025-26. On ODOT’s scale — developed in collaboration with the Associated General Contractors more than a decade ago — -50 is the worst score possible.

It is unusual for contractors to score below the top performance level, called Performance Level 1, for multiple consecutive years, House stated.

“T��� majority of ODOT contractors perform in the Performance Level 1 category for all of the different categories that they are rated on,” House stated. “T���re are however some contractors that do fall below the Performance Level 1 category, and we have discussions with the contractor if they are below the Performance Level 1 category.”

In the most recent evaluation, Kiewit earned the worst possible score in the category of “quality of materials and workmanship.” The score rubric states: “critical material certifications were not provided and work was suspended and/or workmanship was poor enough that remove and reinstall was required.”

In written comments, the evaluation, which was signed by ODOT project manager Ian Cannon, noted “major structural/civil workmanship issues,” including work that required concrete repairs, and stainless-steel bolt galling and overtorque in the main span. Also, the contractor did not install waterline-specific coating or use waterline contamination plugs as directed.

Kiewit also got dinged for nonpayment of subcontractors. The ODOT reviewer commented, “Contractor holding subcontractor payments – No letter or explanation provided to ODOT for 17 subcontractors being paid late.”

ODOT also noted several environmental violations, including tree and brush removal during a bird nesting window and no notice of a bird survey, totaling “serious nonconformance to permits and specifications.” The agency also noted discharge into the river.

The evaluation score leads to mandatory meetings with ODOT staff and a corrective plan.

ODOT in June deemed the project about 78 percent complete. Kiewit’s evaluation score calls for mandatory meetings with agency staff and a corrective plan.

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Skyrocketing diesel prices are reverberating through the construction industry, leading contractors and subcontractors to boost their bids as well as project cost increases.

“It’s significant,” said Mike Salsgiver, CEO of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter. “(Diesel) prices have effectively doubled or more since March. So, it hits the economy overall and the industry badly.”

For contractors and subcontractors, the costs are unavoidable. Diesel runs nearly everything on a typical jobsite, from backhoes and excavators to dump trucks and cranes. Diesel also powers the cargo ships, trains and trucks that bring building materials to a site.

Diesel fuel in Oregon averaged $6.04 per gallon at retail on Tuesday, according to AAA‘s Fuel Gauge Report. That’s up 46.5 percent from a year ago, when prices hovered close to $4 a gallon. Retail prices have dropped recently, down about 21 cents per gallon in the past month.

There’s little that contractors can do to avoid paying higher diesel costs, Salsgiver said.

“T��� work is the work,” he said. “We’re always making strides on making equipment more efficient, but (for avoiding costs), the immediate answer is not really.”

Project owners are noticing the effects. In April, the Oregon Department of Transportation paid contractors about 1 percent more than expected if fuel prices had remained unchanged.

ODOT uses a “fuel escalation/de-escalation” clause in its contracts. Contractors do not have to build in extra costs to cover fuel price increases after they submit a bid. Instead, ODOT adjusts payments after a project begins construction based on a monthly fuel price index.

“We expect prices to change, and our contracts make allowances for price fluctuations,” ODOT spokeswoman Katherine Benenati stated in an email message.

ODOT paid $4.66 per gallon in May, up from $2.51 a year earlier — a nearly 86 percent increase.

If prices remain high, the situation could eat into project budgets for major multibillion-dollar projects such as the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, and the efforts to replace the Interstate and Burnside bridges.

Diesel price spikes are likely to hit large road and infrastructure projects the hardest, said Macrina Wilkins, director of market insights for AGC of America. That’s because diesel is used in the manufacturing processes for road materials, in addition to the work itself.

So far, AGC is tracking a modest escalation in costs.

“What we’re seeing is a slight uptick in the price of a bid or project,” she said.

Energy prices grew 10.1 percent in March and 7.8 percent in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics‘ Producer Price Index.

“I would expect — as with any supply shock — you might see it begin to trickle into other areas,” Wilkins said.

Adding to contractors’ caution is the uncertainty of the United States’ ongoing conflict with Iran, industry officials said. It’s not clear when oil will resume flowing through the Strait of Hormuz at normal rates.

Salsgiver said he expects this price spike to endure longer than the 2022 disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This one is dragging out a lot longer,” he said. “Certainly, as long as the situation in Iran is what it is, it’s going to last a while.”

Salsgiver added, “I’m not an economist, but I talk to economists, and they do not see an early end to this price spike.”

Contractors have so far largely taken the increased costs in stride. Dan Drinkward, vice president at Hoffman Construction, said the effects are hard to discern by general contractors. Subcontractors may notice the price spike first, he said.

“I would expect it to be a driver of escalation,” Drinkward said, adding that it’s only one component of increased costs across the industry. “For the most part, it’s a second-degree driver of escalation.”

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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.

“T��� 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.

“T��� 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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Oregon transportation commissioners on Thursday blasted leaders of the Interstate Bridge replacement program for keeping them in the dark for months as projected construction costs soared by billions of dollars.

Poor communication — and the massive cost increase itself — could jeopardize the push to build a new, seismically resilient bridge carrying Interstate 5 over the Columbia River, commissioners said.

“T��� narrative now is so negative that you guys could put the bridge in jeopardy simply because you’re not willing to have these conversations until the numbers are perfect,” Commissioner Jeff Baker said.

Thursday’s Oregon Transportation Commission meeting came only days after news broke that cost estimates for the project had more than doubled, to a range of $12.2 billion to $17.7 billion. The previous estimates, from 2022, were $5 billion to $7.5 billion.

The cost estimates were stated in an Aug. 15 document unearthed by City Observatory, a Portland think tank, through a public records request.

Oregon Department of Transportation and Interstate Bridge replacement (IBR) program officials have said the estimates were not shared publicly because they were not finalized, an explanation that seemed to exasperate commissioners who were working with years-old cost assumptions.

“You put all of us in a bad situation by having information that you may not have given to elected officials or to committee members or to others, and tried to contain it and tried to figure out what to do,” Chairwoman Julie Brown said.

Baker expressed frustration that he learned of the new cost estimates from media outlets and not IBR program officials.

“As commissioners, we’re not getting our information from you,” he said.

An official cost estimate will be available in March, IBR program officials said.

“It’s incumbent upon us to get information out, which obviously has been a breach of trust with folks,” said Carley Francis, the IBR program’s newly appointed interim director.

The commission had received assurances in October 2025 that a fresh cost estimate would be available in December 2025, Baker said.

“This is a moving target, and it’s been moving and moving and moving,” he said.

IBR program officials blamed some of the delay on an earlier-than-expected decision by the U.S. Coast Guard to approve a 116-foot navigational clearance, making a fixed span possible. With the approval in hand, more accurate estimates can be produced, officials said.

Yet IBR program officials did not dispute the 11-figure cost estimates that drew headlines, and Francis conceded the estimates and underlying document were “robust.”

The ballooning price tag could make the project infeasible, Commission Vice Chairman Lee Beyer said.

“If those numbers are correct, we can’t build this project,” he said. “T���re’s no way you’re going to get the money to do it at this point.”

The Interstate Bridge replacement project is broken into 29 different packages, including the bridge itself and seven interchanges on a 5-mile corridor spanning Oregon and Washington.

IBR program officials have discussed sequencing those packages, in part of logistical necessity and in part to spread costs. But Baker cautioned that sequencing should not be used to hide the true cost of the project, or its impact on other transportation infrastructure priorities in Oregon.

“I understand it’s a process that has worked in Washington, and we’ve been guilty of it here at times, but the direction of the Legislature and the feeling of this commission is that’s not the appropriate way to do it,” Baker said. “We should scope it. We should come up with a budget. We should put everything out there — because at $13.6 billion, what do you think that’s going to do to our ability to handle projects around the state if that bridge is draining that tank?”

With the Coast Guard’s approval, a supplemental environmental impact statement can be finalized and a record of decision made for the project. Oregon and Washington transportation leaders also face a Sept. 30 deadline to allocate $927 million of a $1.5 billion federal grant.

In the meantime, the project is moving forward. Engineers are testing ways to strengthen the soils around the bridge. They’re using a test site adjacent to the I-5 southbound Hayden Island exit.

“T���re are different techniques that have different results,” said Ray Mabey, assistant program administrator. “Each one of them is fairly expensive, and we want to make sure that we address and pick the right one.”

The IBR team is also looking ahead to bidding for the massive progressive design-build contract for bridge construction.

At least two teams, maybe three, are expected to bid on the contract, Mabey said. Other packages will be broken into parts small enough for local contractors to tackle.

IBR program officials are “making sure that we have packages that are sized appropriately for biddability, but also our local contractors,” Mabey said. “We’re not hearing a desire to have construction packages sized that only draw on the worldwide companies.”

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U.S. Coast Guard approval of a fixed-span design for a new Interstate Bridge marked a key regulatory step forward last week, but soaring costs have clouded the project’s outlook.

Cost estimates for the Interstate Bridge replacement program have more than doubled, with a high-end estimate for a fixed span rising to $17.7 billion, according to recently unearthed Oregon Department of Transportation documents.

The documents were obtained by City Observatory, a Portland-based think tank, through a public records request. ODOT hadn’t publicly updated its cost estimates since 2022, when it gauged the bridge’s cost at $5 billion to $7.5 billion.

“I was shocked,” said Joe Cortright, a Portland economist who runs City Observatory.

Cortright added that he expected the project’s cost to rise to $9 billion to $10 billion, far below the actual estimates, which range from $12.2 billion to $17.7 billion. The rise in estimated costs far outpaces overall inflation and construction cost indexes, he noted.

ODOT pushed back, saying the cost figures do not represent a complete cost estimate, which involves an in-depth examination of the costs of labor and equipment materials as well as the schedule.

“T��� IBR program has been clear with its partners and the public that the cost of the IBR program is going to increase, but since the cost estimating process remains under way, we do not have a final number to share at this time,” IBR program administrator Carley Francis stated in an email on Wednesday.

An official cost estimate is expected in March, according to ODOT.

Infrastructure projects across the nation “are currently experiencing significant price increases,” Francis stated. “We do not expect the IBR program to be immune to the cost increases we are seeing around the country.”

It’s unclear where leaders in Oregon and Washington will get all the funding needed to construct the bridge. In all, the program has more than $5 billion in identified funding, Francis stated.

The states have pledged $1 billion each, in addition to $217 million in existing state funding. Federal grants and toll revenues are also expected to help foot the bill.

“Ultimately, it’ll continue to be a mix of contributions from different levels of government,” said Mike Salsgiver, executive director of Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter.

Ongoing state and federal sources will need to be tapped for the project, he said.

“With a project of this length, it will be an annual revisiting of federal appropriations and each legislature,” he said.

Salsgiver and other transportation advocates will visit Oregon’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., in April to push for continued funding.

“T��� region will have to continue to make sure those funding streams are open and able to get this project complete,” Salsgiver said.

Cortright cast doubt on federal willingness to pay for the project.

“Right now, the congressional Republicans and the Trump administration — they’re not really favorably inclined toward transit projects generally, and particularly not those in blue states and cities,” he said.

Project backers were buoyed by the Coast Guard’s determination that a fixed span with 116 feet of vertical clearance will provide adequate room for boats to pass underneath. A movable span would have been even more expensive, according to estimates.

“T���y’re portraying it as a big step forward,” Cortright said. “T���y dodged a bullet.”

ODOT recently told transportation commissioners that the project is marching ahead.

The IBR program team “will continue working to ensure a successful transition from environmental and planning to delivery and construction,” ODOT interim Director Lisa Sumption wrote in a Jan. 15 letter to the Oregon Transportation Commission ahead of a meeting on Jan. 22. “This includes coordinating with partners to update the construction sequencing and funding strategy to advance the first set of investments towards delivering the full program.”

Tools to address costs could include value engineering, seeking additional federal, state and local funding, and construction phasing. That would mean “building portions of the investments that have adequate funding and working to secure funding for remaining investments in the future,” Sumption wrote.

Cortright has been critical of ODOT for what he describes as a pattern of beginning work on projects that have not been fully funded.

“T���y basically turn the sunk-cost fallacy into a management strategy,” Cortright said. “T���y want to create the sense that hey, we’ve started this and we need to finish it.”

2026 is likely to prove a decisive year for the project. Looming ahead is a Sept. 30 deadline to obligate a significant portion of grant funds from the Federal Highway Administration bridge investment program.

Project officials also expect to complete a final supplemental environmental impact statement this year. That will be followed by an amended record of decision that will include an updated cost estimate and financial plan.

IBR program officials are conducting a tolling study for those documents. The study will examine how much tolls will cost, and how much revenue they will raise.

Both project supporters and opponents point to tolling as a potential political vulnerability. Opposition to tolling has been intense, causing Gov. Tina Kotek and legislators to backtrack from a portion of the 2017 transportation funding bill that called for tolling on interstates 5 and 205.

Drivers are unlikely to look kindly on paying tolls for a new Interstate Bridge, either.

“Tolling is a broader challenge,” Salsgiver said.

ODOT’s toll scenarios range from $1.55 per crossing before the bridge is completed to $4.70 post completion, with some offsets for lower-income drivers.

The bridge has been tolled before. Salsgiver recalled as a child that he would throw a quarter into a toll box to cross the existing Interstate Bridge; its second span was completed in 1958.

Today’s drivers have become unaccustomed to paying tolls, Salsgiver said.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. Removing tolls “taught a generation of Oregonians — and more — that we don’t do tolling here.”

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Five filtration systems and 10 stormwater treatment facilities are in the works in Northwest Portland.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) infrastructure projects are intended to clean stormwater runoff from the Fremont Bridge, the St. Johns Bridge and elsewhere along U.S. Route 30.

“T���se new systems will connect into our current stormwater pipes to remove large debris such as trash and pollutants such as metals and oil from the water,” ODOT spokesperson David House stated in an email.

ODOT’s estimated total cost for design and construction is $37 million.

The five filtration systems will be next to the bridges, and the 10 stormwater treatment facilities will be along U.S. 30. All will collect stormwater from roadways and filter it before releasing it to the Willamette River between Sauvie Island and downtown Portland. Most sites are underground and will not be visible from roads and sidewalks, House stated.

“Rain from roads and other hard surfaces picks up trash, metals such as copper and lead, oil and other pollutants,” House stated. “When untreated, these pollutants wash into drains and nearby waterways diminishing water quality and habitat. Each filtration system we build will improve water quality in the Willamette River by removing large debris like trash and smaller pollutants like metals and oil before they reach the river.”

Project sites will include: the St. Johns Bridge, with two underground filtration systems (one beneath North Philadelphia Avenue on the east end and one beneath Northwest Knappton-General Road on the west end); the Fremont Bridge, with an aboveground filtration system at the base on the east end as well as an underground filtration system beneath the landscaping at the base on the west end; near the Willamette Greenway trail; and at the Fremont Bridge west ramps (at 1500 N.W. Raleigh St.), with an underground stormwater treatment system that includes a 12-foot-tall prefabricated control room and an approximately 20-foot-tall storage tank. Also, the underground treatment systems along U.S. 30 will be built in the highway shoulder between Northwest Nicolai Street and Northwest Marina Way.

WSP has produced project design and specifications for ODOT, according to House. That will allow flexibility in specific site solutions, which will be produced by the contractor for required reviews ahead of construction, he stated.

Bidding for a general contractor opened on Monday. ODOT expects to select a contractor by this spring, House stated.

Construction is expected to begin sometime this year and require approximately two years to complete.

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The Oregon Transportation Commission voted Thursday to move construction of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project to its next phase despite limited funding. The Oregon Department of Transportation will use $167.7 million to pay for work set to begin in 2027.

Last year, ODOT received a $450 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration via its Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) program. This money was intended to pay for the Broadway Weidler Phase 1 package, including construction of the southern portion of the highway cover, completion of the southbound I-5 auxiliary lane and shoulder from I-405 to the Moda Center, and other improvements.

ODOT was able to obligate $67.5 million of the RCN funding before the remainder ($382.5 million) was rescinded by the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act. The obligated funding can be used for preliminary engineering as well as work related to right of way and utilities.

There is $479.9 million in total funding available for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, a staff report states. Travis Brouwer, ODOT deputy director of revenue, finance and compliance, said that funding is not sufficient to finish the project.

The available funding includes $380 million in House Bill 2017 Urban Mobility Strategy funding. Of that portion, currently $167.7 million can go toward phase 1 construction, Brouwer said.

The funding also includes $32.4 million in federal, state and local money for preliminary engineering and phase 1A construction.

“Phase 1A packages work in the corridor both in the north end near the I-5 interchange and at the south end at the I-84 interchange,” said Monica Blanchard, interim program director of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project.

Phase 1A is under way and scheduled to finish in late 2026. Its focus is on bridge maintenance, stormwater-related work, and early safety improvements. Subcontractors have been selected, the right of entry permit has been finalized, erosion control has been installed on site, and stormwater work on the drainage pond has started, Blanchard said.

ODOT completed a value engineering study and cost reduction workshop after May’s Oregon Transportation Commission meeting. A cost reduction concept of micropiles for the highway cover foundation has been adopted. According to ODOT, micropiles offer flexibility in construction and are better suited to address subsurface obstructions if encountered. Micropiles use smaller drilling equipment than other traditional foundation types and can be better mobilized in restrictive areas. The results are a $45 million cost reduction and no impact on the construction schedule.

ODOT will continue to consider other ways project costs can be lowered, Blanchard said. In fact, eight other concepts are being evaluated. However, officials have ruled out removing the second auxiliary lane on I-84 to Weidler Street, reducing the width of the highway within the highway cover, and using buried concrete arches in lieu of girders.

Moving forward, ODOT presented three construction options to the commission. Option 1 would be construction of phase 1B with the available $167.7 million. Crews would complete some of the operational and safety improvements on I-5 between I-84 and the Broadway/Weidler off-ramp, including widening over the Rose Quarter Transit Center and removing the pinch point at the I-84 northbound on-ramp. Construction would begin in 2027, after completion of phase 1A, and allow for a continuous transition from phase 1A to phase 1B.

Option 2 would delay construction of the full Broadway Weidler Phase 1 package until the third quarter of 2028 if additional funding is secured. ODOT would use remaining preliminary engineering funds, including the RCN grant, to complete design for all of phase 1.

Under option 3, construction funding for the Broadway Weidler Phase 1 package would be reallocated or reprioritized legislatively. Design of Broadway Weidler Phase 1 would be completed with federal RCN grant funding. The team would focus on completing the phase 1A construction package. The rest of the budget would be allocated to other ODOT priorities. ODOT staff did not recommend this option because the project cost would grow each year.

However, a fourth option was proposed by Metro, the city of Portland and Albina Vision Trust. In a letter, the partners proposed something similar to option 1 but with ODOT working with them on phasing and scope of phase 1B and phase 1C.

Commissioners voted unanimously to advance option 4, which directs ODOT to work collaboratively with local and regional partners to analyze the proposed construction scope and develop a feasible plan. ODOT will return before the commission in March or April with a progress report.

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EV charging infrastructure deployment plans are in the works for Interstates 5 and 84 after the Oregon Department of Transportation secured grant funding from two federal programs for planning, design and installation work at the stations.

During a webinar on Wednesday, ODOT gave an overview of its plans for the public fleet EV charging stations on both highways.

The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program is a discretionary grant program that was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Its main purpose is to fund alternative fuel infrastructure projects along major highways and interstates throughout the state and communities, with a special focus on medium and heavy-duty infrastructure, said Brett Howell, ODOT’s transportation electrification coordinator.

In 2023, ODOT, the California Department of Transportation and the Washington State Department of Transportation applied for the program. In August 2024, the three states – California, Washington and Oregon – were selected for an award in round 1B of the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program. The total award was roughly $102 million to support the development of medium and heavy-duty focused charging infrastructure, as well as a limited number of hydrogen refueling stations along Interstate 5 in all three states and a few additional corridors in California, Howell said.

Oregon received about $21.1 million to develop two medium and heavy-duty charging stations, and one hydrogen refueling station, all to be located along the I-5 corridor.

Howell said the funding for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program is subject to a 20 percent minimum match requirement. ODOT intends to issue a notice of funding opportunity application sometime next fall.

The Carbon Reduction Program provides money to reduce carbon emissions. Oregon received $4.5 million for installation of an EV charging station along I-84, likely between Portland and The Dalles, Howell said.

For the Carbon Reduction Program, there is a funding match of 10.27 percent. ODOT plans to issue a funding opportunity application for in the spring or summer.

The webinar also addressed a new provision for a program through the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Oregon DEQ‘s Clean Fuels Program is providing financial incentives for public fleets and their contractors through advance crediting. The financial incentives allow fleets to get an up-front loan of Clean Fuels Program credits when they put a new medium- or heavy- duty electric vehicle into service.

Courtney Herbolsheimer, of Oregon DEQ, said the program, which began in 2016, is a market-based program that reduces the overall carbon intensity of transportation fuels used in Oregon.

“Each type of fuel is assigned a carbon intensity value or level of carbon emissions,” Herbolsheimer said. “Over time, each year, DEQ gradually lowers the amount of carbon intensity average that’s allowed in fuel to meet our annual reduction goals.”

Lower carbon fuels will generate credits, while higher carbon fuels will generate deficits. An entity reports on a quarterly basis the number of kilowatt hours of electricity that are dispensed from its chargers each quarter.

With this new provision – advance crediting – DEQ is able to grant up to six years of credits to an entity up front. Those credits would be received when the vehicle is put into service, Herbolsheimer said.

The program will have one application period per year and will launch in early to mid-2026. Advance credits will apply only to vehicles when they are first put into service. Applicants must remain the owner of the vehicle until they have paid back the advance credits. Oregon DEQ will determine if an application meets the requirements. After an agreement is made, DEQ will issue advance credits.

The entity would pay back those credits over a period spanning at least one year and no later than three years after receiving the credits. Once the credits are repaid, they can go back to the regular program.

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The Metro Council last week added three Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) projects to the 2024-2027 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) to meet federal project delivery requirements. The Interstate Bridge replacement project is in the design phase; construction is expected to begin next year.

The council voted 6-1 on Thursday to approve the amendment (Mary Nolan voted no). The item will next go before the Oregon Transportation Commission on July 31. The commission’s approval is required for authorization of the funding for the three projects. If the commission were to deny the amendment, the Metro Council’s decision would be considered invalid and would not be sent to the Federal Highway Administration for final approval.

The June 2025 MTIP contains three projects related to the effort to replace the Interstate Bridge and improve related interchanges. One is a modification to the I-5 Columbia River (Interstate) Bridge project and two new projects are related to tolling and the construction of the replacement bridge. The combined amendment is $1.9 billion, said Ted Leybold, Metro transportation policy director.

The I-5 Columbia River (Interstate) Bridge project contains the nonconstruction phases for the IBR program. Funding for the planning and initial preliminary engineering phase was obligated prior to development of the 2024-2027 MTIP. Planning and design are under way; the work includes right-of-way and utility relocation activities for early construction packages, as well as continuing overall program management and development work. The total MTIP programming cost has increased from $103 million to approximately $554.6 million.

One new project for pre-completion of tolling infrastructure calls for installing signage, related structures, and electrical systems in preparation of new tolling operations on and near the Interstate Bridge. The total MTIP programming cost is approximately $24.6 million.

The other new project added to the MTIP is for the replacement of the Interstate Bridge. It will advance post-NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) design and construction activities for the new bridge over the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington, downstream of the existing structure. The work will support the construction of two new bridges to accommodate highway, transit and active transportation modes. The total MTIP programming amount is approximately $1.5 billion.

Tolling rates will be set by the Oregon Transportation Commission and the Washington State Transportation Commission. Pre-completion tolling on the Interstate Bridge is expected to start in 2027.

Ray Mabey, assistant program manager for the IBR program and the state bridge engineer for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said tolling rates will be variable depending on time of day. IBR program staffers are studying possible tolling rates; all scenarios include a discount for low-income drivers.

According to the , the total estimated project cost is from $5 billion to $7.5 billion.

Full project completion is expected to require 10 to 15 years.

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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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