The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBRP) between Washington and Oregon received nearly $1.5 billion in funding from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program, local media reported, which will help fund the first significant phase of the project, replacing the interstate bridge.
The IBRP announced that the construction will be replaced with a “new seismic-resistant, multimodal solution.”
The recent grant is in addition to $600 million in funding announced earlier this year by the federal government’s Department of Transportation.
More than $2 billion has been received from U.S. agencies, and $1 billion from each state, bringing the total to more than $4 billion.
The full cost of the interstate bridge project is expected to exceed six billion dollars, which will eventually build highway extensions and connections in Washington and Oregon.
Pre-construction for the bridge replacement is expected to begin soon, as more than half of the estimated total funding has been allocated. However, the program is still in design, with four different single-level proposals, a double-level proposal, and a moveable steel girder concept being considered.
There is no information yet about contractors and subcontractors, and main construction should begin in 2026.
The Interstate Bridge connects the cities of Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon via a six-lane section of the US Interstate 5 motorway. The two Parker through-truss bridges opened in 1917 and 1958, are nearly identical steel vertical-lift.
Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBRP)
The Interstate Bridge, also known as the Columbia River Interstate Bridge, I-5 Bridge, Portland–Vancouver Interstate Bridge, and Vancouver–Portland Bridge, carries Interstate 5 traffic over the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon.
In 2017 the Washington Legislature formed the Joint Oregon-Washington Legislative Action Committee, which was created to look at bridge replacement, but initially had no Oregon representation. The new committee was formed to prevent the NRC from withdrawing after a deadline that was extended to 2025. In April 2019, the Washington Legislature approved $17.5 million to create a project office for pre-design and planning services. In August 2019, the Oregon Transportation Commission also awarded a similar grant.
The project is estimated to cost $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion. A locally preferred eight-lane bridge with a light rail guideway and several modified interchanges on the western side is expected to be completed in 2022. The US Coast Guard sought an alternative to keep river traffic safe with a drawbridge. Following a local decision, the drawbridge would be lowered by 60 feet (18 m). Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2025 or early 2026. Tolls will be imposed on the Oregon side of the current bridge to help raise funds during the new bridge’s construction.