Feds award $1.5 billion toward replacement I-5 bridge (Portland - Vancouver)

The grant brings the total federal allocation to $2.1 billion.

Sorely needed.

100% chance that they'll still need to toll traffic to cover the remaining few billion in costs but it is a good step forward.

6 comments

Here's a link to a paywall bypass.

https://archive.is/20240712211117/https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2024/07/feds-award-15-billion-toward-replacement-i-5-bridge.html
Have bridges always cost this much money?
- Generally, kind of yeah.
  
  But even ignoring inflation, structural safety requirements are dramatically higher now. Most existing bridges wouldn't pass certification to be built now. Which is also a root cause of some of the failures.
  
  So next time someone says they have a bridge to sell me, I should say "yes"?
- No, but they now build bridges taller, to handle way more load, and also to survive a Cascadia Event. Design needs have changed.

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