Frequently Asked Questions

The purpose of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is to improve safety and congestion where three major interstates converge and to support reconnecting the Albina neighborhood.

This 1.8-mile stretch of highway is the only two-lane section of I-5 in a major urban area between Canada and Mexico. The project addresses the critical need to keep Oregon's people and economy moving.

The project is needed to address the following issues identified within the project area:

• The top traffic bottleneck in Oregon and the 27th worst freight bottleneck in the nation as of 2025.
• Up to 12 hours of congestion each day.
• A crash rate 3.5 times higher than the statewide average on I-5.
• A lack of full shoulders in key areas of I-5 to clear crashes and to provide emergency vehicles access or movement through traffic.
• A lack of neighborhood connections and undersized, incomplete and inaccessible sidewalks and crossings for people walking, biking and rolling through the surrounding local streets. 

These safety and congestion concerns contribute to Portland having the seventh worst traffic and fourth most daily congestion of the 49 most populous U.S. metros as of 2024.

Expected project benefits include:

• Smoother traffic flow on I-5 with space to merge on and off I-5.
• Faster emergency response times with space to navigate to or around incidents.
• Reduced crashes on I-5 by up to 50%.
• Predictable travel times on I-5 for people, services and goods.
• Safer local streets with greater visibility, protection and access for people walking, biking and rolling.
• Restored local street network over I-5.
• Opportunities for Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) through contracts that build long-term career prospects.
• A new highway cover over I-5 that can accommodate new community development.

Local street improvements will make streets safer by offering greater visibility, protection and access to people walking, biking and rolling. The project includes improvements on local streets for all users, such as better lighting and curb ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The project will improve bike facilities and replace existing bike lanes with either buffered or protected lanes. The addition of a car-free bridge over I-5 will enhance safety and improve access for pedestrians and bicyclists near the Moda Center.

The project area sits in the heart of the historic Albina neighborhood. Albina was a thriving community and business district for Black Portlanders until several major urban renewal and development projects, including the construction of I-5, severed and displaced the community in the 1960s. Because past decisions about public and private development in the historic Albina neighborhood so negatively impacted Black Portlanders, ODOT is committed to engaging with and prioritizing the voices of the historic Albina community.

ODOT will break ground on the project in summer 2025 with early work and begin construction on the first phase of the highway cover in 2027. 

Construction starting in 2025 includes stormwater improvements as well as bridge preservation and seismic resiliency work at I-84. This early phase (referred to as Phase 1A) is expected to be completed toward the end of 2026. Starting construction with these shovel-ready components preserves existing infrastructure and improves water quality, gets the construction community to work in 2025, and reduces the effects of inflation.

The next phase of construction (referred to as Phase 1) is planned to begin in early 2027. It includes building the southern portion of the highway cover (30% of the cover length) near Broadway and Weidler, building the full southbound auxiliary lane and shoulder from I-405 to the Morrison Bridge exit, extending an initial portion of the northbound auxiliary lane and shoulder under the highway cover, and installing signage for highway cover safety and construction. Construction of this phase is expected to be completed in 2031. 

Learn more by visiting the Construction page.

Construction in 2025 will have minimal impacts to travelers. Travelers should expect some nightly lane closures, ramp closures, and local street impacts.

More traffic impacts are expected on I-5 when cover construction begins in 2027. To stay informed about upcoming construction and traffic impacts sign up for email and/or text alerts.

Between June 2023 and April 2025, the cost estimate for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project increased from a range of $1.5–$1.9 billion to $1.96 billion –$2.08 billion. This increase is driven by a risk-based estimating process, updated inflation assumptions, schedule start and end date changes, and real-time market data. The project team is shifting to a “design-to-budget” strategy and is looking at opportunities to reduce the cost range.

About $863 million dollars of state and federal funding is currently available for the project. This is sufficient funding to begin construction on the first two phases of work on the highway cover, auxiliary lanes and shoulders; conduct bridge preservation work in the southern project area; and construct stormwater facilities near I-405.

ODOT and our partners – the City of Portland, Metro, Albina Vision Trust, and the Portland Trail Blazers (Rip City Management) – are committed to completing the project in its entirety. The project team takes ownership of past estimating gaps and is committed to greater transparency, rigorous risk management, and real-time estimating practices to better manage project costs moving forward.

On March 12, 2024, the Federal Highway Administration issued a Finding of No Significant Impact based on the required environmental review for the project. This federal decision approves the project to proceed into final design and construction.

Click here to find more information about the environmental review process and documentation.

There are sections of I-5 where the width of the highway will change from current conditions to improve travel safety and reduce congestion – some sections will become wider, some will stay the same, and some will become narrower. The project will add one new auxiliary lane in each direction on I-5 between I-84 and I-405, which serve as ramp-to-ramp connections. The project will also widen shoulders along this same segment of I-5. Although ODOT will be adding auxiliary lanes, the project will not be adding additional through lanes to the corridor; there will still be the two existing through lanes in each direction north and south of the project area.

Auxiliary lanes provide drivers more time to merge, improving mobility while reducing crashes. Wider shoulders provide space for disabled vehicles to clear the highway safely and give emergency service vehicles quicker access to incidents. In total, the project improvements are expected to reduce crashes by up to 50% and save drivers nearly 2.5 million hours of travel time a year.

To learn more about expected changes in highway width at multiple locations throughout the project area, view our Highway Width Fact Sheet. 

ODOT owns most of the land needed to expand the highway at locations where widening is required. There are five affected private properties that will likely be needed for purposes of construction. ODOT would purchase these properties from the owners and any affected businesses would be fully compensated and relocated under the federal Uniform Act. None of these properties are minority-owned, and no homes would be impacted. Additionally, there are eight “Personal Property Only” displacements that will be required. These are considered moveable objects that are not affixed to any property, such as a sign, billboard, dumpster etc. ODOT continues to coordinate with all affected property owners.

Click here to view a visual representation of the proposed project design.

ODOT works collaboratively with Portland Public Schools (PPS) to keep the school district apprised of the latest data and developments regarding the project.

PPS is leading a separate effort to relocate Harriet Tubman Middle School to a new location in the area and away from the I-5 corridor. This move is not an outcome of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project; the planned move came about because $120 million in funding for relocating the school was approved by the state legislature. Although ODOT is not directly involved in this effort, we support PPS’s process to address concerns related to the school being adjacent to I-5. PPS is exploring possible new locations and has the latest information.