The Interstate Bridge Replacement Project (IBRP) is the new name for the same bridge project the Portland Metro region already rejected once. It's setting out on an identical course as the first project, spending $3 to $5 billion in tax dollars to widen I-5 to sixteen lanes in places, mainly to save commuters from Vancouver a few minutes by car.
From an equity perspective, the IBRP provides the most congestion relief to the commuters in Ridgefield, a lower-density, high-income, and predominantly white community north of Vancouver.
The IBRP also fails from a climate change perspective. Widening I-5 to 16 lanes (including all the ramps, merge lanes, etc.) to facilitate more driving to the outer suburbs in Washington will make the climate crisis worse. In Oregon, 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from our transportation system.
There are cheaper, smarter, greener, and more equitable alternatives to the project’s current path, including an integrated approach that combines a supplemental bridge with congestion pricing, transit improvements, and changes to land use policy.
We demand that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC), and policymakers like Portland City Council, Multnomah County, and Metro set a new course for this project that centers climate change, equity, and public transportation.
By signing this petition, you will be notified of future action opportunities related to the I5 Bridge Freeway Expansion, The Rose Quarter Projects, and other critical issues around land use, equity, and climate change in the Portland Metro Region.
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