Gov. Bob Ferguson, regional leaders pledge to replace I-5 bridge; construction targeted for 2028

Gov. Bob Ferguson announced a plan to replace the 109-year-old Interstate Bridge that links Portland and Vancouver, saying the state will pursue a fixed-span replacement and that construction is expected to start in 2028.

"We're gonna build this bridge. That's gonna happen," Governor Bob Ferguson said, framing the replacement as essential for public safety, the region's economy and thousands of jobs. He cited the program's updated cost estimate of $7,650,000,000 and said the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program currently has about $5,500,000,000 in state and federal funding available while pursuing an additional $1,000,000,000 through the Federal Transit Administration's capital investment grant program.

Why it matters: Officials said the current structure is vulnerable to seismic events because supporting timber piles sit in loose sand, a condition the environmental impact statement flagged as creating collapse risk. The U.S. Coast Guard's recent approval of a fixed-span design — instead of a movable lift span — was described by Ferguson as "a huge…