A new online open house is available to the community regarding the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program. The open house shares details and asks the community for comment about work researching and identifying historic and archaeological areas in and around the Oregon-Washington I-5 bridge slated for replacement.
The first section the bridge opened in 1917 (today’s northbound section) with a second bridge (today’s southbound section) opening in 1958. The age of the spans puts them at risk of collapse in the event of a major earthquake and no longer satisfies the needs of commerce and travel. Replacing the aging structure with a modern, seismically resilient, multimodal structure that provides improved mobility for people, goods and services is a high priority.
The open house is part of a robust cultural resources consultation process federally mandated under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The Act requires consideration of the potential effects of projects on historic properties. Community feedback is essential in this process to better understand these important historic sites and accurately analyze potential effects of program work and investments.
The goal of the open house is to collect feedback that helps avoid or mitigate adverse impacts to historic properties. A Programmatic Agreement, expected in late 2024, will cover any mitigation efforts agreed upon by consulting parties and stakeholders, including federal agencies, federally recognized tribes, project consulting partners and the general public.
Through Thursday, May 18 the Section 106 National Historic Act online open house will be available at interstatebridge.org/cultural-resources-open-house. The website offers a two-minute video and also has a map illustrating the IBR program’s Area of Potential Effect.