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Design of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project can now advance.

The Oregon Transportation Commission on Thursday received an update on the project鈥檚 progress from team members. The commission also approved a resolution for an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Albina Vision Trust partnership related to the project.

The goal of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project is to improve safety and alleviate congestion where three major interstates converge as well as reconnect the Albina neighborhood via construction of a highway cover over a portion of Interstate 5.

The Revised Supplemental Environmental Assessment is complete and includes design refinements that came about public comments were submitted in 2022-2023. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) granted its environmental review approval on Tuesday. This means ODOT has federal approval to proceed with the project 鈥� including greater design detail.

The project design approved by FHWA is the result of work to center the voices of Black Portlanders. The team seeks to support the restoration of the historic Albina community, which was severed by the original construction of I-5. The project also includes solutions to address one of the worst highway bottlenecks in the country as well as improvements that will make walking, biking and rolling safer, the project鈥檚 website states.

Also, the project recently received $450 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation鈥檚 Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant program.

鈥淭his level of federal investment from a single source is rare,鈥� Megan Channell, ODOT project director, said during Thursday鈥檚 commission meeting.

The federal funding will allow the project team to complete the design. It will also provide the first investment in construction of the initial core part of the highway cover, which is the project鈥檚 primary reconnection feature, Channell said.

ODOT will work with federal and local partners to prepare a grant agreement for project scopes and timeline. ODOT is also working with the community, the city of Portland and other partners to seek other funding opportunities and prepare for construction. The current cost estimate of the project is $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion.

Hamilton/Sundt, a Joint Venture (HSJV), in association with Raimore Construction, is the project鈥檚聽construction manager/general contractor聽(CM/GC), according to the project鈥檚 website.

The project鈥檚 design now features a single, large highway cover capable of supporting development on top. Plans also call for reconnecting and improving local streets and as well as upgrading pedestrian, bicyclist, and ADA facilities (including a bridge over I-5 for only pedestrians and bicyclists).

Shoulders on I-5 will be widened to support faster emergency response times by first responders. Also, auxiliary lanes will be constructed to improve traffic flow and safety, the southbound off-ramp from Vancouver/Broadway will be relocated to the south near the Moda Center to support redevelopment opportunities, and a new 鈥渇lyover鈥� structure will be constructed to direct the 60 percent of I-5 off-ramp traffic headed east of I-5 out of the Rose Quarter.

Albina Vision Trust was created to steward the vision for the future of lower Albina, the group states on its website. Construction of the trust鈥檚 first project, Albina One, a building with 94 affordable housing units, began last year.

Meanwhile, the Portland Public Schools Board of Education passed a resolution to sell the Dr. Matthew Prophet Education Service Center, a 10.5-acre property in lower Albina, to Albina Vision Trust within 12 months, said JT Flowers, development and communications strategist for the nonprofit.

The planned cover over I-5 will support new development and is expected to have surplus properties. Albina Vision Trust has expressed interest in exploring future disposition opportunities for those properties.

The resolution passed Thursday establishes a work plan between ODOT and Albina Vision Trust to explore options for the highway cover governance and future ownership of surplus lands associated with the project. ODOT plans to develop a work plan with Albina Vision Trust within 60 days.