01.03.24

After Securing Record-Setting Federal Grant for I-5 Bridge Replacement, Cantwell Tours Columbia River Crossing Bottleneck and Highlights Next Steps to Bring Home Even More Federal Funding

$600M grant awarded to project in December under Sen. Cantwell’s Mega program, largest in program’s history; More federal dollars are needed and available to replace outdated bridge: Project seeks funding under other grant programs authorized by Sen. Cantwell’s Commerce Committee

VANCOUVER, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, toured the Interstate 5 (I-5) bridge and held a roundtable discussion with local stakeholders and U.S. Senator Patty Murray following last month’s pivotal announcement of $600 million in federal funds for the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Mega grant program.

The funding announced in December will fund approximately 8-12% of the estimated $5-7.5 billion total bridge replacement project cost. The federal dollars come from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program, or Mega program, which Sen. Cantwell authored. A one-pager on Sen. Cantwell’s history of leadership establishing the Mega program and championing the I-5 Bridge replacement project is available HERE.

"We're here today to talk about not just the $600 million -- which, we're very thrilled about that investment -- but now within the next month we'll probably be getting feedback on the $1.5 billion request for the [Bridge Investment Program],” Sen. Cantwell said. "Being able to show the federal government we can be ready on the next phase of design and preparation so we can really capitalize on those bridge dollars."

"The federal government is saying we believe in this region. We believe in this project."

During her remarks and the roundtable discussion, Sen. Cantwell noted the importance of the Mega grant and the availability of additional funding opportunities for the bridge replacement project.

  • The $600 million grant is the largest Mega grant ever awarded, signaling that the federal government recognizes the importance and intends to be a strong partner in building this mammoth project.
  • In December, the State of Washington applied for $1.5 billion from the DOT’s Bridge Investment Program. The awards are scheduled to be announced this summer. The DOT is expected to return initial feedback on IBR’s grant application as soon as the end of January.
  • The project has already been accepted into the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Program pipeline, making it eligible for up to $1 billion within the next few years. These funds could be awarded in 2027 if the project design is completed next year as expected.

In April 2023, Sen. Cantwell joined 24 Senate Democrat colleagues in sending a letter urging Senate leadership to support $4.5 billion for the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program in the FY2024 appropriations bill. In November 2023, Sen. Cantwell also sent a letter to DOT Secretary Buttigieg in support of the I-5 bridge grant application for the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment Program (BIP).

Local roundtable participants included IBR Program Administrator Greg Johnson, Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Vancouver City Manager Eric Holmes, C-Tran CEO Shawn Donaghy, C-Tran Deputy CEO Leann Caver, WSDOT Southwest Region Administrator Carley Francis, WSDOT Federal Affairs Director Megan Cotton, Executive Director SW Washington Regional Transportation Council Matt Ransom, Port of Vancouver Commissioner Jack Burkman, Port of Vancouver CEO Julianna Marler, and IBEW Local 48 Business Representative Bob Carroll.

A one-pager on Sen. Cantwell’s history of leadership establishing the Mega program in the BIL, as well as championing the I-5 Bridge replacement project overall, is available HERE.

In spring of 2022, Sen. Cantwell toured the I-5 Bridge along with local and regional leaders; photos of that tour are available for download HERE and video is HERE.

The I-5 Bridge is a crucial linchpin in both the regional and national economy and plays a vital role in transporting freight along the I-5 corridor. IBR reports that $132 million worth of freight crossed the I-5 Bridge daily in 2020.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, an estimated total of $97 billion in goods traveled by truck either from Washington to Oregon or California, or from Oregon or California to Washington in 2022.

The route is also vital to international exporters; in 2021, nearly $2 billion worth of goods from California and $750 million worth of goods from Oregon were trucked to Canada via the I-5 corridor. According to the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council an average of 131,747 vehicles crossed the bridge each weekday in 2021, including many of the 65,000 Clark County residents who work in Oregon.

Despite the bridge’s importance, it’s rated the worst truck bottleneck in Washington and Oregon and the fifth-worst on the West Coast, with seven to 10 hours of congestion during the morning and evening commute periods.

In addition, there are significant issues with the aging existing bridge. One span is more than a century old and the other is more than 65 years old. Neither span has had a seismic retrofit, which is a significant concern in a region susceptible to earthquake activity: the entire structure is at risk of collapse in the event of a major earthquake. 

Moreover, simply maintaining the existing structure is expensive. Annual maintenance costs are about $1.2 million per year and larger maintenance projects needed to simply maintain the bridge are expected to cost $280 million by 2040 – not including the cost of a seismic retrofit, which would be substantial. 

Today, these maintenance costs are split equally between the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Transportation.