[What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s 2026 Transportation issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.]
In March, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Washington Governor Bob Ferguson jointly told their constituents they aren’t giving up on the effort to replace the I-5 bridge between Portland and Vancouver, Washington.
“We need a new bridge and it’s time to start building it,” Kotek said in a March 17 press release. “At my direction, [the Oregon Department of Transportation] will focus on protecting Oregon taxpayers by making sure this critical project is delivered as efficiently as possible.”
The announcement came a little more than two months after the Oregon Journalism Project revealed the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) project is now expected to cost more than $13 billion in total. In the same press release that included the governors’ statements, IBR officials confirmed the full project is now expected to total between $13.5 and $15.2 billion, pegging the “most likely cost” at $14.4 billion. That estimate includes construction not directly related to the bridge replacement itself, with the full project area stretching well beyond the Columbia River, across five miles of I-5 between Portland and Vancouver.
The new price tag was alarming. Prior to the March announcement, IBR project leaders hadn’t released a cost estimate since December 2022, when they said the full plan would cost roughly half as much as currently projected. At a time when Oregon’s transportation department is struggling with bare bones maintenance funding, how would the state contribute billions of dollars to the I-5 bridge project?
But project leaders assured Oregon and Washington residents the massive price tag is a problem for another date. For now, the IBR construction plan has been pared down to include just a “core set of projects,” expected to cost $7.65 billion. The rest will come in a later phase, IBR leaders say.
Oregon and Washington’s transportation departments have currently secured about $5.5 billion in committed funds for the IBR, leaving them short by more than $2 billion for just the core projects. (Project leaders are pursuing a $1 billion grant from the Federal Transit Administration to fund the MAX light rail extension to Vancouver.)
In comparison to the $14.4 billion number, the scaled-down plan and its $7.65 billion price tag appears somewhat manageable. It’s unclear, however, if the phased approach truly means a more efficient project.
The primary component of the plan is the bridge replacement itself, which will consist of two new earthquake-resilient fixed-span structures over the Columbia River to accommodate northbound and southbound traffic. The new bridge is expected to be 116 feet tall to accommodate river traffic without a lift span—a significant height difference compared to the current bridge, which, when lowered, is only about 40 feet above the river. The core project also includes light rail infrastructure connecting Portland and Vancouver, a shared-use path for people walking and biking across the bridge, and express bus accommodations.
The other half of the project would entail considerable work on I-5 in Portland and Vancouver, with planners aiming to reconstruct stretches of I-5 and expand several freeway interchanges in the project area. Officials now say this part of the project will be completed later, as part of a phased approach to construction.
“The plan here is to take whatever money they’ve got, get the project started, and then come back later and ask for the rest of the money.”
Joe Cortright
The construction plans for the sections of I-5 adjacent to the Columbia River have been the main target of ire from anti-freeway advocates, who have accused the IBR team of using the bridge replacement project as a way to unnecessarily widen a five-mile stretch of I-5.
Critics take issue with the project’s environmental effects as well as its major financial impact, and have called on Oregon and Washington leaders to “right size” the project—that is, focus on the basics. So when officials announced their plan to work only on the core components of the bridge replacement, some longtime critics took it as a good sign.
Oregon Senator Khanh Pham, who has long called for IBR planners to reduce the scope of the project, said she was encouraged by Kotek and Ferguson’s apparent decision to “prioritize replacing the existing bridge and investing in transit.”
“Oregon is already struggling to invest in the most basic maintenance and preservation of our statewide coastal bridges, mountain passes, and local streets,” Pham said in a March 17 statement responding to the IBR’s press release. “I hope today’s decision marks a turning point in the IBR project in which the agencies acknowledge the financial realities of our state budgets and the imperative to curb excessive megaproject spending to preserve funding for core functions of our transportation system.”
Portland economist and ODOT watchdog Joe Cortright has a less optimistic view. To Cortright, the decision to phase the project is just a way to sugarcoat the major cost increase. He pointed out that the new, 116-foot-tall bridge will require elevated freeways and interchanges on either side of the river, meaning that once bridge construction is underway, it won’t be possible for Oregon and Washington leaders to put a stop to most of the other parts of the project. With construction expected to extend until 2045, the state transportation departments are now in it for the long haul, Cortright says.
“The plan here is to take whatever money they’ve got, get the project started, and then come back later and ask for the rest of the money,” Cortright told the Mercury.
IBR officials also expect tolls—which public records suggest could be implemented as soon as 2027—will help pay for the project. These road fees are likely to be priced depending on demand, ranging from $1.55 to $4.70 per trip, and more for trucks. Project leaders anticipate the toll program to generate roughly $1.25 billion for construction.
According to the project’s latest timeline, IBR design work will be completed in 2027, with construction beginning in 2028. Considering how much the estimated project cost has increased over the years, leaders say time is of the essence.
In the March 17 press release, Washington Secretary of Transportation Julie Meredith said the new cost increase does not remove the need to replace the current I-5 bridge, which is old and expected to collapse during an earthquake.
“Without action, transportation challenges, safety risks, and maintenance costs will continue to increase,” Meredith said.
