In a blow to a project years in the making, the U.S. Department of Transportation has rejected ODOT’s request for $750 million to spend towards the Rose Quarter I-5 Improvement Project , Oregon State Rep. Susan McLain announced Thursday, Oct. 18.
This has now left ODOT at least $900 million behind on the plan to expand the width of Interstate 5 through the Albina neighborhood, which was expected to cost between $1.5-1.9 billion.
This comes after the project’s plan to put a cap over the expansion secured a $450 million grant back in April, which made up more than half of the project’s available funds at the time. This would have solidified the first part of the effort to restore the Albina neighborhood, the inner-Northeast area of the city that was razed in the 1950s and ’60s during the freeway’s initial construction.
KOIN 6 News is a news partner of the Portland Tribune. Their full story including a statement from ODOT can be found at koin.com .