“This grant award underscores the strong federal support we have in replacing the Interstate Bridge,” says Kris Strickler, Oregon Dept. of Transportation director, in a statement. “I-5 and the Interstate Bridge are essential to the prosperity of those who travel through our region and those who call it home.”

The nearly $1.5-billion grant joins the $600 million U.S. Dept. of Transportation Mega Grant, $1 billion commitment made by both Oregon and Washington and projected tolling revenues to give the project the funding it needs to proceed. The project also hopes to gain additional funding through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant program. 

The $1 billion in commitments that came from the Oregon legislature in 2023 and the Washington legislature in 2022 which revived a project that began in 2019 after a failed attempt between the two states to replace the bridge in a effort that ran from 2005 until 2013. 

“The award of these grant dollars further cements the IBR program as a key national project for the US DOT,” says Greg Johnson, IBR program administrator in a statement. “This funding marks another key milestone for the IBR program. We are one significant step closer to providing a safe, multimodal, earthquake-resilient corridor that will better connect communities for decades into the future.” 

With I-5 the only interstate that connects Mexico and Canada on the West Coast, it is also linked to some of the world's largest ports, making the project not only a vital trade route both regionally and nationally, but also one with international significance. 

“Replacing the Interstate Bridge with a multimodal crossing is one of our highest priorities and ensures we’re building a modern bridge for modern times,” says Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) in a statement. 

Currently two, nearly identical side-by-side lift spans cross the river at Portland, Ore. The first was constructed largely for horse-and-buggy traffic in 1917. The second opened in 1958, paid for by eight years of tolls. The current structures have struggled in recent decades to handle increasing traffic demands, with heavy congestion during peak travel times and a crash rate over three times higher than statewide averages. 

A major two-state effort to replace the bridge, known as the Columbia River Crossing project, began in 2005. Following years of contention around design, transit inclusion and budget, the project came to an end in 2013 with nothing built when the Washington State Senate chose to end its share of funding for the effort. 

Six years later, the states' two governors signed a bi-state Memorandum of Intent to restart work on the Interstate Bridge. The November 2019 agreement led to the formation of the IBR program to complete the planning, design and construction work for the bridge. The program is led jointly by the Oregon and Washington state departments of transportation in coordination with eight other bi-state partner agencies. 

“This historic federal investment clearly demonstrates that improving our aging transportation system is a national priority,” says Roger Millar, Washington secretary of transportation, says in a statement. 

Pre-construction is scheduled to begin later this year with an estimated construction start date of 2026.