The vote follows the endorsement of the modified locally preferred alternative by all eight partner agencies.
Next steps
An upcoming environmental impact statement will build off the work done for the failed Columbia River Crossing, examining everything that has changed to the project area over the past decade. It will also identify where the bridge will sit and what properties will be impacted.
“We are building on that, but we are also acknowledging that there has been a number of changes that have happened in this region,” Johnson said.
There will be an opportunity for public comment before the supplemental final environmental impact statement and record of decision are published.
Along with the supplemental environmental impact statement, the I-5 Bridge project will spend the next year and a half developing a conceptual finance plan, applying for grants, developing a plan to address partner conditions and going before the Oregon Legislature for funding.
“I tell folks, we’re probably at the 10,000-foot view of a cost estimate we will be trying to get down to the 1,000-foot view or the 500-foot view by the end of the year,” Johnson said.
The modified locally preferred alternative was developed with the assumptions that it will be a replacement bridge with three through lanes in each direction, additional interchange improvements within the program corridor and variable rate tolling for funding and congestion mitigation.
The bridge type and bridge layout — if it is side-by-side or stacked — will not be selected until at least 2024.
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