The biggest federal grant application for the project to replace the aging Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River was not awarded, though project administration says its first attempt for funding through a new source from Washington, D.C. won’t be the last.
On Jan. 4, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration announced $2.1 billion in grants through its Fiscal Year 2022 Large Bridge Project. Of the four projects that received funding, the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program (IBRP) was not one of them.
The program sought $750 million in funding through the grant. IBRP Administrator Greg Johnson said those funds would have been used specifically for the main river crossing, which makes up about $1.4 to $1.5 billion of the overall project.
Missing out on the grant was not a shock to program officials, Johnson said. In July, as the program was wrapping up the “locally preferred alternative” procedure for a high-level concept, project partners in the federal government encouraged the program to submit an application for the funds, he said.
“We wanted to make sure that our foot was in the door and they knew the size of the funding grant that we would be looking for as we move forward,” Johnson said.
The overall I-5 bridge project is anticipated to cost $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion. Washington already committed $1 billion last year. Program backers plan to go to the Oregon Legislature this session to ask for a match to Washington’s funding.
The projects that did receive funding through the Large Bridge Project grants were further ahead in the process than the I-5 bridge replacement was, Johnson said.
Johnson said the IBRP’s application later this year for both the Large Bridge Project grant and the federal Megaprojects grant will look better in the eyes of the highway administration as it draws closer to breaking ground. Both grant opportunities came from 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Although unsuccessful, Johnson said the first application being denied is not a surprise to program staff.
“For us, this was kind of like tapping the U.S. Department of Transportation on the shoulder to say, ‘hey think about us, we’re coming and we’re coming soon,’” Johnson said.
Johnson said having an updated cost estimate, which was released last month, will be “tremendously helpful” in the program’s pursuits of grant funding.
Of the projects funded through the Large Bridge Project grants, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet received close to $1.4 billion for the reconstruction of the Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky.
After seeing the size of that project’s award, “we will likely be asking for more dollars to come here,” Johnson said.
“Not saying that our corridor is more important than theirs, but we have a bigger project, a more complicated project,” Johnson said, with a price tag about twice the size of the project out East.
The program is anticipating a similar grant submittal schedule as the past year, which landed in August for the Large Bridge Project grant. Although the Megaprojects grant timeframe has not been announced, program staff anticipate it to happen in late spring or early summer.
For 2023, program staff anticipate issuing a draft environmental review by late summer or early fall for public feedback. In the meantime, the program is also conducting a traffic and revenue study.
In 2024, program staff hope to have a “record of decision” from the federal government ahead of construction of the I-5 bridge, which is slated to tentatively begin in late 2025 or early 2026.
“It’s a complicated dance, but the team is up to the challenge,” Johnson said.
