News

AmericaFWD announced on Jan. 15, 2026, that the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is one of only three locations in the United States selected to receive dedicated technical assistance through the Project Delivery Accelerator Lab (The Lab). The award will provide the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project with specialized expertise to move the project from federal funding to active construction, ensuring the community sees tangible improvements in connectivity and equity.

By providing direct expertise through The Lab, AmericaFWD helps local leaders navigate complex regulatory environments and accelerate construction on projects focused on reconnecting communities, improving transit, and fostering economic equity.

"Infrastructure is about more than concrete and steel. It is about affordability and shifting power back to the people who rely on these systems every day," said AmericaFWD Executive Director Christopher Coes.

"We aim to demonstrate to the nation that accelerating the American Dream is achievable when leaders, community voices, and the private sector work together. The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project represents the future of American infrastructure: equitable, sustainable, and deeply rooted in the needs of residents and local businesses."

By providing direct expertise through The Lab, AmericaFWD helps local leaders navigate complex regulatory environments and accelerate construction on projects focused on reconnecting communities, improving transit, and fostering economic equity.

"The goal of AmericaFWD’s Project Delivery Accelerator Lab is to ensure that local leaders have the tools they need to actually get work done," said Director of the Project Delivery Accelerator Lab Roger Millar. "By providing these technical assistance awards, we are clearing the path from funding to completion. We are rolling up our sleeves and helping communities bring their infrastructure projects to life."

This national expertise is now being deployed directly to Portland to support the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project.

The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project will improve safety and congestion where three major interstates converge and reconnect the Albina neighborhood with the construction of a cover over a portion of I-5.

The 1.8-mile project area contains the only two-lane section of I-5 in a major urban area between Canada and Mexico. It has the highest crash rate on any urban interstate in Oregon and is the state's top traffic bottleneck. The project addresses the critical need to keep Oregon's people and economy moving.

“ODOT is honored to join the initial cohort of communities supported by AmericaFWD’s Project Delivery Accelerator Lab. We appreciate AmericaFWD’s leadership in helping public agencies turn infrastructure investments into real, on-the-ground results," said ODOT Statewide Project Delivery Manager David Kim.

"The Lab’s technical assistance and rapid response support will strengthen our capacity to address delivery challenges, collaborate with partners, and advance the Rose Quarter Project that will improve safety, mobility, and economic opportunity throughout the region.”

Joining the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project as national awardees in AmericaFWD’s Project Delivery Accelerator Lab are:

• Choose How You Move Program, Nashville, TN (City of Nashville): As the largest capital program in Nashville history, this $3.1 billion initiative will install smart signals at nearly 600 intersections and build 54 miles of high-capacity transit. The program includes 86 miles of new sidewalks to connect busy neighborhoods to transit while making critical safety improvements across 78 miles of the city’s high-injury network.
• The Emerald Trail, Jacksonville, FL (Jacksonville Transportation Authority): The Emerald Trail is a transformative 34-mile linear park system designed to reconnect urban neighborhoods long divided by Interstate 95. This phase, being delivered by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, advances approximately 15 miles of off-street bicycle and pedestrian trails to improve access to jobs and essential services for economically distressed communities.

The selection of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project marks a critical step in operationalizing AmericaFWD’s 2025 State of Play report, which identified community-led delivery as the key to national infrastructure success. By turning the report’s high-level findings into on-the-ground results, AmericaFWD is providing a real-time roadmap for local leaders nationwide who are ready to move from funding to completion.