New I-5 Bridge clears another funding hurdle in two separate votes
VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Interstate 5 Bridge Replacement Program cleared another bureaucratic funding hurdle Thursday when Metro, Portland’s regional governing body, voted to spend $1.9 billion in funding that had already been awarded to the project.
Thursday’s vote moves the roughly $6 billion project forward even as questions remain about whether a megaproject bridging two blue states can succeed under President Donald Trump. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has raised alarms about Trump’s administration pulling funding for projects in Democratic-leaning states.
The $1.9 billion approved by Metro comes from the federal government, as well as Washington and Oregon. While the money has been allocated to the project, planners need another layer of procedural approval before it can be spent.
The project had secured a similar approval from the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council, which rubber-stamped it July 1. It still needs the state of Oregon’s approval. (Washington doesn’t require an equivalent approval at the state level.)
“Once we have federal environmental approval, the (bridge replacement) program can begin construction and turn dirt on this key transportation investment,” said Ray Mabey, second in command at the project.
The project to replace the 108-year-old bridge is funded with $2.1 billion from the federal government, $1 billion each from Washington and Oregon, and $1.2 billion from future tolls. Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a bill in May that allows the state to issue $2.5 billion in state bonds to pay for part of the bridge replacement project before tolls make up that cost.
While tolls were initially expected as soon as next spring, project managers say the fees likely won’t start until summer 2027. Those will be on the existing bridge.
Dena Horton spoke in favor of the spending approval at last Thursday’s meeting. She’s deputy director of Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, a group that advocates for shippers around the region.
“Our interest in the IBR Program is in ensuring that no matter what type of bridge is built, that it can accommodate the current and future navigation and shipping needs,” she said at the meeting. “Our members want to ensure multimodal freight moving by semi-truck, rail, and water can move more safely and efficiently, which benefits our region’s economy.”
Officials at Metro’s vote on Thursday had questions for project leaders about equity issues and whether the project could be completed within the allocated budget.
Bridge replacement staff said they’re monitoring to see if inflation and tariffs would impact the project’s cost, adding they would update the project’s executive steering committee if there were changes.
After a winding discussion, the resolution to make three amendments to the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program was approved.
The vote increased the project’s approved funding for preliminary engineering, funding for right of way acquisition, utility relocation activities, installing signage and putting in tolling infrastructure, Kelsey Kuhnhausen, a Metro spokeswoman, said in an email.
Earlier this year, the project was the center of controversy as Washington officials tried to lock the Trump administration into guaranteeing its funding. Then Transportation secretary nominee, Sean Duffy, dodged questions from Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. But each side notched a win and controversy faded.
The Oregon Transportation Commission is expected to vote on whether to give the project the final regional green light to spend the nearly $2 billion on Sept. 11, Kuhnhausen said.
Transportation funding in Oregon is swirling in controversy as the state deals with a $350 million funding shortfall. Despite that, Oregon’s TriMet is still moving forward with its involvement in the I-5 Bridge replacement project, KGW News reported.
The project expects construction to start in early 2026 after federal environmental review approvals, Mabey said.
About the project: The Murrow News Fellowship is a state-funded journalism project managed by Washington State University. Local partners are The Columbian and The Daily News. For more information, visit news-fellowship.murrow.wsu.edu.