Portland Metro Freeway/Highway/Roads News and Discussions

[PhillyPDX]

What’s with the recent construction along I5 near Moda Center? They’ve cleared all vegetation along the highway slopes, and there are construction detours in the area. Almost feels like pre-work for rose quarter freeway construction. But then that isn’t funded, correct?

Best I can find is this:

https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Regions/Documents/WeeklyConstructionUpdate-Jan10-17.pdf

Have they allowed progress to start on early work while waiting on funding for the entire package?

[truebaru]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

What’s with the recent construction along I5 near Moda Center? They’ve cleared all vegetation along the highway slopes, and there are construction detours in the area. Almost feels like pre-work for rose quarter freeway construction. But then that isn’t funded, correct?

Best I can find is this:

https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Regions/Documents/WeeklyConstructionUpdate-Jan10-17.pdf

Have they allowed progress to start on early work while waiting on funding for the entire package?

They decided to move forward as scheduled even though funding isn't clear:

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/11/r...egon-transportation-commission-portland/

I believe this is mostly to prevent burning bridges with Albina Vision Trust, which I think is a good thing.

Another addition is that this was chosen over an alternative that would have prioritized putting the funding towards widening over the highway caps. Another reason I think this is a good thing (relative to alternatives given funding challenges).

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by truebaru

They decided to move forward as scheduled even though funding isn't clear:

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/11/r...egon-transportation-commission-portland/

I believe this is mostly to prevent burning bridges with Albina Vision Trust, which I think is a good thing.

Another addition is that this was chosen over an alternative that would have prioritized putting the funding towards widening over the highway caps. Another reason I think this is a good thing (relative to alternatives given funding challenges).

Oh interesting. Wasn’t tracking any of it was moving forward. The public mindset from the PPS - Tubman middle school perspective of the project is it’s dead in the water.