Project Description
The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project adds auxiliary lanes and shoulders to reduce congestion and improve safety on Interstate 5, the main north-south freeway on the west coast. The project redesigns the multimodal local street network, smoothing traffic flow on I-5 between I-84 and I-405 where three interstates intersect and feature the biggest traffic bottleneck in Oregon.
The project will also improve community connections by redesigning overpasses and reconnecting neighborhood streets, enhancing public spaces, and promoting economic development opportunities. The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project’s transportation improvements allow the City to implement the development goals for the North/Northeast Portland area and realize the City’s Central City 2035 Plan.
PROJECT STATUS
On September 9, 2021 the Oregon Transportation Commission approved the Historic Albina Advisory Board’s endorsement of the Hybrid 3 highway cover option. The independent highway cover assessment which led to the development of Hybrid 3 concluded in July 2021. You can view the final report here.
Design work for the project continues. Last spring, a design package was produced that includes comments from project partners and community input from the Environmental Assessment. This design update will inform the work of the construction team and support a collaborative approach to addressing design issues, challenges and opportunities moving forward. The Executive Summary includes more information about the 2021 design update. Additionally, project findings of compatibility with local land use plans were adopted on April 5, 2021. The next design update will be ready in late 2022.
History in Albina and Looking to the Future
The first two decades of the federal interstate system construction displaced more than a million Americans. In the 1950s and 60s, this construction had a profoundly negative impact on communities of color.
In Portland, generations of Black families of the Albina neighborhood are still haunted by the lasting impact of the loss of their homes, businesses, places of worship and social cohesion. The construction of I-5, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Legacy Emanuel Hospital, Portland Public School Blanchard site, and “urban renewal” divided and displaced communities in North and Northeast Portland leaving generational trauma in its wake.
Success Story: Foreman Turon White found more than a job at Raimore Construction.
Today, ODOT is determined to weaken the barriers created by the initial highway construction in order to create a better future for Black Portlanders. The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is expected to generate substantial opportunities for economic development and redevelopment in the Albina neighborhood. By adhering to project values that center the Black community, ODOT is determined to level up.
