Portland observer., April 03, 2024, Page 4, Image 4

Page 4
April 3, 2024
New Grant Will Pay for New I-5 Highway Cover
By Beverly Corbell
A grant of $450 million, close
to a half billion dollars, is com-
ing to Portland to construct a new
highway cover over Interstate 5 as
part of the Oregon Department of
Transportation’s plan to add more
lanes to the highway.
Exactly how that will look re-
mains to be seen, but both Rep.
Earl Blumenaur and President Joe
Biden and many others are excited
at the prospect.
In a March 13 article in the
Guardian, Biden hailed infrastruc-
ture spending on U.S. projects “to
right historic wrongs.”
Biden said the construction
of interstate highways led to the
demolition of thousands of homes
and businesses, disproportionately
impacting Black and poor neigh-
borhoods in the 1960s, with loss-
es of prosperity and opportunities
“that still reverberate today.”
Although there has been much
debate about whether to put covers
over the reconstructed interstate
because of the cost, ODOT direc-
tor Kris Strickler was quote on I-5
Rose Quarter website at i5rose-
quarter.org, as being pleased with
the news of the federal windfall.
“Receiving the grant is an
important step in realizing the
vision of reconnecting neigh-
borhoods, improving transpor-
tation network, and taking part
Map of I-5
in a collective movement toward
restoring the historic Albina
community,” she said. “Work-
ing with community leaders, we
saw a path to make this project
about more than reducing con-
gestion…To do so, we’ve de-
signed a feature we’ve never had
the opportunity to build before: a
multi-acre highway cover which
will reconnect neighborhood
streets and create new space for
community activities.
Theold Albina neighborhood
will never be completely restored,
of course, but the grant makes new
beginnings possible, said Win-
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ta Yohannes, executive director,
quoted on the I-5 Rose Quarter
site., i5rosequarter.org.
“This catalytic federal invest-
ment represents the beginning of
a new chapter, one where gov-
ernment plays an active role in
not only healing the harms of
history, but investing in commu-
nity-driven visions of a better
tomorrow,” she said “The Albina
Vision Trust is overjoyed to cel-
ebrate this victory alongside our
partners at the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation.”
Ken Modica, a member of
the project’s Historic Albina
Board, was also quoted, and
highlighted the significance of
the funding as “more than just
financial support. It represents a
pivotal step towards revitalizing
our community.”
But just what will the covers
look like? According to ODOT,
the project will build much need-
ed auxiliary lanes to I-5, but it
is more than reducing conges-
tion and is an opportunity to
build community by providing
a multi-acre highway cover “to
reconnect neighborhood streets
and create new space for com-
munity activities.”
Blumenaur said he’s worked
for years to mobilize other lead-
ers to “reclaim the legacy” of
Lower Albina, and even got
Secretary of Transportation Pete
Buttigieg to visit Portland last
spring to learn about the neigh-
borhood’s history and make the
case for federal investment.
“This funding will be transfor-
mative,” Blumenaur said in a press
release, “not just for Portland but
to serve as a national model for
how we heal communities torn
apart by destructive federal proj-
ects. With this investment we are
showing how to do it right.”