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Portland and ODOT say southbound I-5 will close Sept. 11 for up to five weeks to repair bridge deck
Summary
ODOT told Portland City Council the Rose Quarter southbound I-5 closure will begin Sept. 11 for up to five weeks to rehabilitate roughly 2,000 feet of bridge deck; the agency said the continuous closure was chosen for safety and cost reasons after alternatives proved infeasible.
Portland and state officials told the City Council work session that Southbound Interstate 5 through the Rose Quarter will be closed for up to five weeks beginning Sept. 11 to rehabilitate a deteriorating bridge deck.
"Southbound I-5 will be closed for up to 5 weeks beginning September 11," ODOT statewide project delivery manager David Kim said, explaining the decision followed a review of options and safety concerns. Kim said the work repairs about 2,000 feet of southbound bridge deck and is intended to extend the structure's service life by 25 years or more.
Kim told the council the project grew from long-term planning under House Bill 2017 and that the Rose 0.25 project aims to improve safety, freight mobility and seismic resiliency while reconnecting neighborhoods historically severed by the interstate. He said alternatives such as single-lane maintenance or repeated weekend closures were rejected because they posed safety risks, compromised concrete quality and would add millions in cost: single-lane traffic control would add an estimated $4.5 million–$7 million and weekend-only closures an estimated $6 million–$9 million.
The closure footprint will run from the Broadway/Wheeler area south to the I-84 interchange. ODOT said a single southbound lane will remain for local access to the Broadway/Widler exit and that the southbound off-ramp to I-405 will remain open as a designated detour, while several on-ramps (Alberta, Greeley, Fremont Bridge) will be closed.
City staff and ODOT emphasized the closure is intended to get critical work done quickly to reduce longer-term disruption, but councilors raised concerns about the timing, externalized costs to the city and region, and the impacts on commuters, businesses and events. The council asked staff to track community impacts closely and to coordinate mitigation and outreach across bureaus.
