Nearly a decade in, the ambitious project to widen Interstate 5 through Portland’s Rose Quarter is stuck in neutral. Meanwhile, its price tag has ballooned.
Oregon has spent $143.5 million on the effort since 2016, money for planning, engineering, community outreach and conducting an environmental review, according to state figures. That’s all without a shovel hitting the dirt.
Now the project faces a difficult path forward: a more than $1.5 billion financial hole since the federal government pulled back a grant worth about a quarter of its estimated cost. Some state leaders are unsure where they’ll find the money…