At least US$5 billion for Oregon-Washington bridge

Building the new I-5 Oregon-Washington bridge will cost at least US$5 billion.
Finance & Funding / October 2, 2024 55 seconds Read
By MJ Woof
A report has been published into the proposed Washington-Oregon I-5 bridge project – image courtesy of © Shane Cotee| Dreamstime.com

Costing from US$5-7.5 billion, the new bridge carrying I-5 across the Colombia River between Oregon State and Washington State will nonetheless be good value for money. The recently released Environmental Impact Report says that the new link will cut congestion over the bridge, cutting journey times as well as improving traffic safety.

The existing twin bridges no longer meet transport or safety requirements. The current northbound bridge opened to traffic in 1917 handling all traffic requirements at the time. The second bridge opened to traffic in 1958 and took over duties for southbound traffic. Handling around 130,000 vehicles/day, the current bridges suffer from congestion and are also at risk from earthquakes, while not meeting the latest traffic safety requirements.

The report estimates that by 2045, the new crossing would reduce the time caused by congestion by 70% in the southbound direction and by 57% in the northbound direction.

Construction is expected to take until 2032 to complete and both Washington State and Oregon State have said they will provide $1 billion each to the project. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has also said it will provide up to $1.5 billion. The new bridge will have to be tolled to help pay for the work and its construction will require the demolition of 45 domestic properties and 36 business properties however.

 

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