Metro candidate Mary Nolan’s record on freeway expansion projects
“I trust ODOT to deliver the plan… They’ve made compromises. And I think we should move on.”— Mary Nolan on I-5 Rose Quarter project (5/5/20)
I-5 Rose Quarter Project
ODOT says new advisory committee will have ‘tremendous power’ to ‘reshape’ I-5 project
The Oregon Department of Transportation has made a new promise regarding their controversial I-5 Rose Quarter project. Asked Friday by the host of Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud radio show about how much power the forthcoming Historic Albina Advisory Board (HAAB) would have to influence the project, ODOT’s Director of Urban Mobility Brendan Finn … Read more
Former ODOT committee members blast agency for silencing opposition
14 former members of an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) advisory committee have signed onto a letter that says they’re “deeply suspicious” of the agency and that they were shut out of the process because they “didn’t play ball” on the I-5 Rose Quarter project. As we reported on September 2nd, ODOT abruptly shut down … Read more
ODOT shutters I-5 Rose Quarter Community Advisory Committee
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has just taken the rare step of closing down its own advisory committee in favor of a new one that will consist of mostly hand-picked members. It’s the latest twist in ODOT’s effort to resuscitate the highly controversial, $800 million I-5 Rose Quarter mega-project that’s been on life support … Read more
PBOT work crews on North Flint not connected to I-5 Rose Quarter project
Note and correction, 7/8: I originally reported this yesterday as PBOT crews defying the City Council work stoppage order issued by Mayor Ted Wheeler on July 6th. I made an assumption after seeing a large work crew in the same general at the same time and on the same date that ODOT had planned to … Read more
Albina Vision pulls support for I-5 Rose Quarter project
Huge news from the Portland Mercury and Willamette Week: The nonprofit Albina Vision Trust has decided it will no longer support the Oregon Department of Transportation’s I-5 Rose Quarter project and they will no longer participate in an advisory role. In a tweet posted today, reporter Blair Stevnick wrote, “Albina Vision Trust is withdrawing from … Read more
Concerns aside, Metro Council gives ODOT $129 million for I-5 Rose Quarter project
Despite a majority of Metro Council expressing concerns about the future of a nearly $800 million project that will expand the I-5 freeway through the Rose Quarter, only two out of seven members voted against giving the Oregon Department of Transportation $129 million to continue working on it. The 5-2 vote came at a meeting … Read more
Transportation commission says I-5 Rose Quarter project can move ahead without environmental statement
The oversight body for the Oregon Department of Transportation has given the agency permission to move forward on their $715 million I-5 Rose Quarter project without doing more rigorous and independent analysis of its environmental and community impacts. In a 5-0 vote taken on a meeting held over the phone today, Oregon Transportation Commission Chair … Read more
Regional leaders greenlight $129 million for I-5 Rose Quarter project
We’re at that awkward stage in a highway mega-project when the agency in charge is under a cloud of controversy and still (after years of planning) doesn’t have an official endorsement to start construction, but still wants money to keep the project moving forward. Of course I’m talking about the Oregon Department of Transportation and … Read more
ODOT releases roster of I-5 Rose Quarter project community advisory committee
Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting of the I-5 Rose Quarter Project Community Advisory Committee. Due to public health concerns, it has been postponed and will be rescheduled in an online-only format (public will be invited, see updated details below). This is the committee foisted upon the Oregon Department of Transportation by their … Read more
Comment of the Week: The public health angle should matter more