The Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program has been making progress. Recently, the IBR Program released the cost breakdown for the Interstate 5 Bridge Project ranging from $5 billion to $7.5 billion, how the project will look, and how it will affect Vancouver.
The estimated price of the project is between $1.64 billion and $2.45 billion, and will go towards the bridge project itself.
The remainder of the funding will go towards transit investments, estimated to cost between $1.32 billion and $1.99 billion, Oregon and Washington interchanges, roadways, and shared paths estimated between $1.05 billion and $1.57 billion for work in Oregon, and $990 million to $1.49 billion for work in Washington.
Assistant Program Administrator Frank Green said that most of the $1.32 billion to $1.99 billion in transit investments will be covered by federal funds.
Program officials are considering moving Highway 14’s terminus to Columbia Street near Phil Arnold Way south of City Hall.
“Those connections into what has been a developing downtown core are important,” Green said. “Putting connections where they can have long-term planning around them is a good thing.”
Officials are also considering extending Main Street to the waterfront. Main Street currently ends at the cloverleaf connecting Highway 14 to southbound I-5, however, with a raised Interstate 5 Bridge and approaches, there is a window to extend it.
Ahead in 2023, the program anticipates receiving a $1 billion commitment from the Oregon Legislature, matching Washington, publishing its supplemental draft environmental impact statement over the summer and applying for federal grants in keeping with its goal of breaking ground by 2025.
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Source: Columbian.com
