No More Freeways

@nomorefreewayspdx.com

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We’re the grassroots community effort to stop ODOT’s polluting, costly, dumb freeway expansions. Climate leaders don’t widen freeways ❌🛣️❌

Lawmakers and workgroup members also agreed that a new transportation funding package shouldn’t commit to projects before having an accurate cost estimate, pointing to the uncompleted Interstate 5 Rose Quarter and Interstate 205 Abernethy Bridge projects met with staggering cost overruns surpassing initial legislative estimates. “I’d like to see that to make sure that we can really make sure we’re preserving our existing road system first before we overcommit our state and then our debt and bond capacity,” Phạm said.
The mega-project problem Large and persistent cost overruns, excessive revenue optimism, expanded debt and reliance on consultants are driving ODOT’s multi-billion dollar financial crisis
Please reject the Interstate Bridge Replacement amendment to the STIP. The project is not a bridge replacement: it is a freeway widening project. A wider freeway has NEVER resulted in reduced traffic congestion. And current traffic/tolling projections indicate traffic volumes will actually decline in the future. ODOT has not been held accountable in any way for its cost overruns and failed mega projects. No more money should be allocated to such a dysfunctional organization that fails to maintain the roads we already have. Don't forget the opportunity costs: this is money that could be better spent on passenger rail service connecting Oregon communities. ODOT should serve the transportation needs of all citizens: not just the ones with cars. Just say NO to more freeway expansion. This is an opportunity to demand financial accountability in providing statewide transportation solutions.
Action Alert! Tell the OTC to VOTE NO on the IBR Blank Check!
But he faces an incumbent whose latest term has been a fiasco. As chair of the House Transportation Committee, McLain played a key role in fumbling the top priority of the 2025 legislative session: a funding bill for the Oregon Department of Transportation whose last-minute failure embarrassed Democrats. She failed to build enough support for her package, even as her party held commanding supermajorities in both chambers. (The compromise version is about to die via the ballot box.) She tells us she couldn’t have worked harder or talked to more people, which isn’t exactly reassuring. If this was the best she could do, we wonder if McLain is any longer capable of forging the connections needed to push meaningful policy through the Legislature. 26BNB 728x90 Worse, McLain co-chairs the Joint Committee on the Interstate 5 Bridge—perhaps the only project going worse than the ODOT funding package. In less than four years, as the Oregon Journalism Project revealed, the estimated cost of the project has more than doubled, from $6 billion to $13.6 billion. The replacement bridge may never span the Columbia River, but McLain appears to be in denial. She says the project has been “successful” because “we’ve met every target and goal we’re supposed to.” She refuses to concede costs have ballooned, or admit that her fellow committee members were outraged at project officials for keeping the new numbers under wraps. Discussing the bridge with her is like watching The Office’s Michael Scott drive his car into a lake on the instructions of his GPS. McLain’s detachment may explain how Watson amassed an impressive number of local endorsements, including from all three mayors of cities in his House district, and all three city council presidents. “I think she’s lost the community,” he says of McLain. “We can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result.” (McLain, for her part, brushed off the loss of those endorsements, and offered little insight as to why she thought…
Building with $5.5 Billion in Available Funding Major infrastructure programs are often constructed in phases over time to align with available funding and workforce, and to minimize disruption to the local communities. With the updated cost estimate, the Program has identified a core set of projects to advance with available funding while working toward building the full five-mile program: Replacement Columbia River Bridge Bridge connections to I-5 Extension of light rail to Waterfront Station in Vancouver Removal of existing bridge The cost estimate for this core set of projects is $7.65 billion, leaving a funding gap of $1.2 to $2.2 billion depending on the availability of funding from the Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Grant.
“Our coalition is done waiting,” said Indi Namkoong, Transportation Justice Coordinator at Verde. “Lawmakers cannot continue to collect tax dollars from working families while cutting the very services those dollars fund. This budget is a failure of leadership and a breach of trust. Now that these cuts have passed, we expect our priorities to be served first in the 2027 transportation package.”
02/03/2026 5:00 PM , HR F This notice provides the meeting schedule and topics for this meeting. The official meeting agenda will be posted on February 2, 2026. Organizational Meeting Adoption of Committee Rules Informational Meeting Inivited Speakers Only Mega Projects – Costs, Opportunity Costs and Mitigations Dr. Zachary Liscow, Yale University Dr. Erick Gurerra, University of Pennsylvania Tony Dutzik, Associate Director and Senior Policy Analyst, Frontier Group Joe Cortright, City Observatory For committee meetings with no public hearings: For information about Language Access Services/Para más información sobre los Servicios de Acceso Lingüístico: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/lpro/Pages/language-access.aspx To access links to a livestream or recordings of legislative meetings: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Pages/Legislative-Video.aspx
When you look through a rational lens, there’s no way today that the Rose Quarter can be completed. The cost of that project is so enormous, and the resources that are available don’t equate to completion. Does it make sense to pause and make sure that we do spend money on maintenance or preservation? I’m not saying that we completely never look at fixing the Rose Quarter, because it needs to be fixed. And based on your reporting on the Interstate Bridge, holy smokes. If the cost is actually $13 billion, that project will never get built.
screenshot of video, where cassie asks "what is your transportation hot take"
If Oregonians want ODOT maintenance crews to keep our state highways safe and open, we need to identify additional funding for basic maintenance to prevent mass layoffs. Tax and fee increases are one option. Another option would be suspending big HB 2017 capital construction projects – like the I-205 Abernethy Bridge, I-5 Rose Quarter, or Center Street Bridge – and reallocating funds from those mega projects to basic maintenance. Whether these or other new solutions move forward, HB 3991 is effectively dead and only the Legislature has the authority to solve ODOT’s maintenance funding crisis. I’m hoping for some great legislating in 2026. Phil Chang is a member of the Oregon Transportation Commission, the governing body for the Oregon Department of Transportation. He was appointed by Governor Kotek in October 2024. Read more at: https://bendbulletin.com/2026/01/07/guest-column-will-no-tax-oregon-become-yes-to-fatal-crashes/
Transit advocates who spoke to WW were dismayed TriMet is cutting core services even as a pair of billion-dollar freeway projects move forward in the metro area: the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project—expected to cost $2 billion—and a plan to replace to replace two aging I-5 spans over the Columbia River, which is expected to cost between $5 billion and $7.5 billion.
Our grassroots campaign is so close to fully covering costs for our lawyers who will challenge the Rose Quarter Freeway Expansion in court this year. Join us and invest in a future with No More Freeways.
screenshot of OPB, with stories about "oregon's ski areas still waiting for snow on the slopes", the IBR's rising price tag, and "new phase of Rose Quarter project to proceed, despite funding hole."
The Rose Quarter expansion project was misconceived from the start. ODOT studies on the impact of this project have never taken adequate account of the pervasive problem of induced demand. Experience elsewhere indicates that any relief of congestion from the proposed freeway widening would be negated within a few years as more vehicles take advantage of the intended improvements. Furthermore, the increased traffic would aggravate the air pollution already emanating from the freeway in the project area and beyond. Funds that might be available for this project should be used to address urgent maintenance and safety needs elswhere in our state's road system.
i Commissioners, I’m writing from the Boise neighborhood, and I'm also on the board of the Boise NA and one of the Land Use & Transportation leaders. I strongly support Option 3 because continuing to put money into the Rose Quarter freeway expansion no longer makes fiscal or practical sense. ODOT is in an operational crisis. The agency cannot afford to keep enough staff to handle the basics: fixing potholes, running snowplows, and keeping our roads safe. These are the core services people actually rely on. Redirecting limited funds toward those essential functions is the only responsible choice. At the same time, the Rose Quarter expansion has become an unworkable project with years of cost overruns, lost federal support, uncertain timelines, and outcomes that do not meaningfully improve congestion, climate goals, or neighborhood quality of life. The few worthwhile elements of the project, like the caps and the Albina Vision Trust work, are now jeopardised by the project’s own financial collapse. It is not honest or transparent to act as if this is still a viable path. Option 3 acknowledges the reality we are facing. Oregonians need their transportation system to function today, not in a distant future tied to a multibillion dollar highway expansion that the state cannot afford. Choosing Option 3 is choosing fiscal responsibility, safety, and the wellbeing of state workers who keep our transportation system running.
I want OTC to choose Option 3 because I am tired of hitting the same potholes year after year, seeing pedestrians attempt to cross the same intersections with no crosswalks, and trying to navigate roads within the city of Portland that are either unfinished or don't have sidewalks! We don't need an expanding highway, we need ground level support!
The funding crisis at ODOT means we have to take a hard look at all spending. The Rose Quarter Expansion is wildly expensive and harmful to our community's land and air. We need to choose Option 3 and direct money away from the proposed expansion to focus on important and urgent needs like safety, transit, maintenance, and capping the freeway to reestablish land that was destroyed by the highway. We already know that the Rose Quarter Expansion can't solve congestion and will worsen air quality and safety — now is the time to refocus on things that will help all Oregonians instead.
As a taxpayer, road user, and citizen directly impacted by the proposed Rose Quarter Freeway Expansion project, I urge ODOT to choose Option 3 and reallocate critical funding to other transportation priorities that will better serve people traveling through Portland. The budgetary crisis at the agency does not inspire confidence in taxpayers that large infrastructure projects can be responsibly funded and implemented, when basic maintenance, staffing, and smaller projects fall by the wayside. Proceeding with the Rose Quarter expansion would signal disregard for the hard working people of Oregon who fund the agency, disrespect for members of the community who have consistently voiced valid opposition to the project for the past eight years, and a lack of leadership in managing state resources to address other transportation needs.
Action Alert! Tell the Oregon Transportation Commission to redirect Rose Quarter Freeway Expansion funding to cover ODOT's statewide needs! Submit written testimony ASAP - by Tuesday Dec 9, 12pm
ODOT is corrupt as fuck: RLS & Associates is a private company based in Ohio that has a multimillion dollar contract with ODOT to perform "independent" compliance audits of transportation districts throughout the state. RLS as now released to the media and the public a compliance report that accuses me of defrauding the taxpayers while CEO of the district. The report provides zero evidence that any degree of wrongdoings were done on my part or the part of the Board. The report blatantly lies about facts as well as makes up new facts that never existed before to attempt to support its assertions. The report admits that it has collaborated with "UPTD Management" and "ODOT" to produce a treasure trove of false "facts." Three months into my job as CEO of the Umpqua Public Transit District, the district became 100% compliant with all state and federal regulations for the first time in more than 5 years. I have documentation from ODOT and RLS confirming this fact. So, tell me: How, three months after my resignation, can a new report emerge that changes the historical facts be considered valid? The UPTD, ODOT, and elected officials have colluded to destroy, modify, and create public records - all outside the knowledge of their General Counsel - to support this witch hunt. We have the indisputable PROOF. This is only the beginning. Suits are being filed. Names are being named.
OJP: A lot of state agencies could use some outside scrutiny. Why have you focused so much on ODOT? Joe Cortright: A lot of things that we’re trying to achieve in Oregon—livability, economic development, dealing with climate—revolve around investments we make or don’t make in the transportation system. And I think we are spending money on the wrong things and we’re not spending money on the right things. ODOT in particular.
So if we are spending about the same as other Western states, why is ODOT broke? ODOT staff advances projects with shoestring funding, wildly optimistic lowball budget forecasts, and generous estimates of where the revenue will come from to pay for the project. And then when they experience cost overruns, they go back to the Transportation Commission and say, gosh, gee, sorry. And the commission gives ’em more money. Everybody at ODOT has seen that happen. The Abernethy Bridge is an example. In 2017, ODOT told the Legislature that a new bridge would cost about $250 million. The Legislature gave ODOT $50 million for the bridge to get it started. Then the bids came in at $500 million and the cost has since gone to $815 million. It’s a management axiom that you get the behavior that you reward.
Rose Quarter freeway project construction to begin in August despite $1.5B funding gap
Action Alert! Tell the Oregon Transportation Commission: Pause Phase 1 of the Proposed $2 Billion+ Rose Quarter Freeway Expansion
7/24/2025 ​Agenda and Materials​​​​ ​ This is a hybrid meeting. To join in-person: ODOT Transportation Building, 355 Capitol St NE, Salem, OR See agenda for start time. Watch or listen to the meeting via Youtube Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/user/OregonDOT/live​