Lars Larson shares more concerns about the Oregon Department of Transportation and the I-5 Bridge replacement project

Lars Larson
The Northwest Nonsense

Remember ODOT? 

The agency that claims it’s so short of cash it’s been forced to lay off hundreds of workers, most of them in red regions of Oregon?  

The one threatening to short change snow plowing, fire evacuation duties and routine road maintenance.

Yeah, that bunch. 

In the closing hours of the legislature last month, lawmakers ordered the state treasurer to borrow more than a quarter of a billion dollars specifically for ODOT.

(https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB5505 G.O. bonds under sub (6)

You’d think that would pay for a lot of regular daily ODOT obligations stuff.  Only the money is allocated to the Interstate Bridge replacement project that, in my opinion, will never be built.

The Interstate Bridge project lacks billions in funding from both Oregon and Washington, lacks the required Coast Guard approval because its 60 feet too short to clear river traffic, and includes the hated light rail.  It also allocates 54 percent of the bridge for bikes, peds and trains … and less than half to cars and trucks.  It’s effectively smaller than the current Interstate Bridge.  

The Abernathy 205 Bridge, halfway done … lacks the funding to finish.

Yet the Interstate Bridge replacement project gets 251 million 825-thousand bucks to keep paying folks to plan a dead bridge project? 

The Oregon Legislature’s supermajority tried to get multiple billions of dollars for the incompetent management down at ODOT … and Gov. Tina Kotek refuses to install new leadership.