by Jerry Cornfield, Oregon Capital Chronicle
January 16, 2026
Washington and Oregon will not have to build a drawbridge as part of the project to replace the aging Interstate 5 bridges across the Columbia River, the U.S. Coast Guard decided on Friday.
Instead, the states can go with a less expensive fixed span that provides 116 feet of clearance for vessel traffic on the river below. The savings from this design will be welcome news for the states, which are confronting rising cost estimates for the multibillion-dollar project before construction is even underway.
Coast Guard officials informed elected leaders and transportation officials in the two states Friday. A written decision was expected to follow.
The approval “will eliminate the only stoplight on Interstate 5, put an end to commute interruptions, and save millions in construction costs,” said U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.
“The vast majority of the maritime community agrees that the new bridge design will not only allow river commerce to continue but also improve safe passage down the river,” added Cantwell, the senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which oversees the Coast Guard.
Cantwell had pressed Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, Commandant of the Coast Guard, for a decision by Jan. 16.
Washington state Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, said he was “really excited to see that the Coast Guard listened to the communities. We’re one step closer to getting this bridge replaced.”
Liias, the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said this is “a really critical decision point” that allows planners to drill down on what the bridge might look like and the costs.
The existing bridge is in danger of collapse in a major earthquake, and one of its spans is over a century old. Supporters of the project predict fewer crashes, faster commutes and more transit options when the new bridge is done.
A fixed span has always been the official first choice of Washington and Oregon. Project planners argue a movable span would perpetuate the same issues travelers experience with the existing bridge, including delays, freight bottlenecks and crash risks.
While Friday’s announcement answers one major question, others, such as what the bridge will cost, when construction will begin and when traffic will finally drive on it, remain unknown.
Program managers are looking to get federal government sign-off on environmental review and a record of decision so contracts can be negotiated this year. Once rolling, construction is expected to last until at least 2032.
For the past couple years, project planners have said the price tag for replacing the bridge ranges from $5 billion to $7.5 billion, with the likely figure of around $6 billion. And they’ve said constructing a movable span would be $500 million more than a fixed-span.
In September, legislators said they anticipate the total could reach $10 billion because costs have escalated 30% on transportation projects in the Seattle and Portland regions in recent years.
Project planners have been recalculating the estimate for months. The work involves examining “100 risk factors,” including inflation and tariffs, staff have said.
Joe Cortright, a Portland economist and project critic, said earlier this month that the revised expense could range between $12.2 billion and $17.7 billion based on public records he obtained and shared with reporters.
Funding is coming from several sources. Each state has committed about $1 billion. Tolls — which will be imposed in both directions on the existing bridge starting in 2027 and managed by Washington — are relied on for a minimum of $1.2 billion. Oregon has a moratorium on any tolls other than the bridge.
Federal grants totaling $2.1 billion were awarded last year under the Biden administration. Planners are pursuing $1 billion from the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Program. This would help pay for a 1.9-mile extension of light-rail from North Portland to a future station near Evergreen Boulevard in Vancouver, Washington. A decision on that funding isn’t expected until the project is further along.
The question of cost should become clearer in the coming weeks, Liias said.
“We know it will be more than the resources we have,” he said Friday. “We will have to figure out how we phase it.”
He has previously said work may need to be delayed on some of the nearly 30 separate items — from new bus shelters to off-ramp improvements — in this endeavor.
This story was originally produced by Washington State Standard, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Oregon Capital Chronicle, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Shumway for questions: [email protected].