WA and Oregon scale back I-5 bridge ambitions as cost balloons to $14.4B
The price tag for a new Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River, linking Washington and Oregon, has doubled to $14.4 billion and the timeline to get it built has slipped again.
Elements of the massive undertaking will be delayed as the focus, and all available dollars, will be directed at building the new bridge itself, the governors of the two states said. The new estimates showing much higher costs were released Tuesday at a news conference orchestrated by Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson.
“I’m not looking backwards,” Ferguson said. “We’re building this damn bridge. That’s happening.”
The project has been in the works for years, amid worries the current bridge could fail in a major earthquake. In its entirety, the Interstate Bridge Program encompasses a raft of transportation improvements from bus shelters to off-ramps spread throughout a 5-mile corridor.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/03/17/cost-of-new-i-5-bridge-linking-oregon-and-wa-doubles-to-14-4b/