Project Refinements

Refinements reduce CRC project costs by up to $650 million

In June 2009, the CRC Project Sponsors Council (PSC) directed project staff to analyze the project for potential refinements that could produce cost savings while maintaining the project’s environmental, economic, transportation, and safety benefits. After five months of meetings with project partners and reviewing different refinements, the CRC staff prepared a recommendation that was presented to the Project Sponsors Council Dec. 4, 2009, for consideration. During the meeting, PSC members heard testimony from dozens of people, asked for additional information and to continue the discussion.

In February 2010, the Governors of Oregon and Washington directed project staff to continue design work using the recommended refinements to reduce the project cost. The refinements included savings of up to $650 million to highway plans (about 20 percent of the total highway cost), including a 10 lane bridge over the Columbia River. As a result of the cost-saving analysis and decisions on bridge design, officials now estimate the most likely cost of construction to be $3.2 billion, within a range of $2.6 to $3.6 billion. Previous estimates were $3.1 - $4.2 billion.

The refinements include:

Eliminating a dedicated ramp (braid) to access Victory Boulevard from I-5 southbound*
Eliminating an elevated ramp (flyover) across I-5 as part of the Marine Drive interchange*
Reusing the existing highway bridge over North Portland Harbor
Eliminating elevated structures over Hayden Island and lowering the profile of the interstate
Reducing the width of the I-5 bridge to accommodate 10 traffic lanes instead of 12
Removing one planned highway lane between SR 14 and SR 500
Eliminating the ramps to I-5 northbound from SR 500 and from I-5 southbound to SR 500*

The refinements are being applied to the current designs with input from project partners and the community.

*These elements are no longer included in the CRC capital cost estimates but could be constructed in the future as part of another project. The community and environmental impacts from constructing these elements will be included in the Final Environmental Impact Statement.