Transcript
Automatically generated transcript. It may contain errors and includes testimony in languages other than English that is not individually marked up for assistive technology.
Unidentified speaker
My, my script says good morning, but I think it's noon.
Technically, yes.
So, okay, so I'm going to call the meeting of the Public Works I'll call this committee to order.
It's Tuesday, June 9th at noon, and it's not Diego, it's Diana.
It's Diana.
Sorry.
Would you please call the roll?
Sure.
Kanal?
Sameer Kanal
Here.
Unidentified speaker
Koyama Lane?
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Here.
Unidentified speaker
Green?
Mitch Green
Here.
Unidentified speaker
Smith?
Loretta Smith
Here.
Unidentified speaker
And Claire, uh, could you please read the statement of conduct?
Thank you, Chair.
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Thank you.
Thank you, Claire.
So colleagues, today we have a much shorter agenda than usual, um, due to a variety of limitations, but our discussion today really centers on I-5, uh, the Rose Quarter Improvement Project.
Um, so, uh, Diana, would you please call this— read this item?
Item number 1, doc—.
$382 Million in RCN grant funding.
In May, June, and July, we are going through STIP and MTIP update process and amendments.
The OTC did approve the STIP amendment in May, and we've started the MTIP process last week with Metro's TPAC, JPAC, and council presentations in June and vote in June and July.
Monica, I'm gonna have to interrupt you right now.
I really apologize, but we're having a problem.
The broadcasting problem just got resolved.
Oh, okay, never mind.
So we should be good now.
Thank you so much.
Apologies for the interruption.
Mitch Green
While you've got everyone interrupted, can I make an appeal to maybe clarify some of the acronyms that you're— 'cause I think a lot of folks following along may not necessarily know.
Thanks.
Unidentified speaker
Yeah, so the STIP is a Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan, and then Metro has a Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan.
So our projects Go through both of those approval processes so that they are aligned both at the state level and at the regional level.
And with the updates to the scope and funding, we're going through this process to update what is currently programmed in both of those plans.
And so for Metro, they have 2 committees and then their Metro Council that we go through both.
We call it a 2-touch approach.
So we have a presentation first with each one of those.
Thank you.
Councils, and then a vote in July with eventually with the council final adoption.
So then shifting back to construction, we do have the 2 closures scheduled for this summer.
The first closure, and we'll dive a lot more detail into these later in the presentation, but the first closure is the 14-hour closure of both directions of I-5 northbound and southbound in the project area.
This is a weekend overnight closure in July.
And then there is A second closure that we'll mostly focus on today is the 5-week closure, up to 5-week closure of I-5 southbound starting September 11th.
So then I mentioned our PMG, or our Project Management Group, and I wanted to provide a little more information on the PMG because as I said in the last slide, the PMG has been instrumental in moving the project forward this year.
The PMG is executive-level leadership coordination forum for the Rose Quarter Project.
It brings together leadership from ODOT, the project team, the city, Metro, Albina Vision Trust, Oregon Trucking Association, the Blazers, and community members from our Historic Albina Advisory Board and the Community Oversight Advisory Committee so that the project can move forward with greater transparency and alignment and shared understanding.
Specifically from the city, I want to highlight the contributions of PBOT Director Williams, Patricia Dierfendorfer from Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, and Amy Nagy from Prosper Portland.
Director Wesley from Prosper Portland will be joining the PMG in June, and we look forward to his engagement and discussions on the broader development of the district and the area and how the Rose Quarter project is just one part of that broader development.
As I mentioned in the status update, the primary focus of the project management group in January through April was getting alignment on the scope of Phase 1B and 1C.
And then starting in April and May, we began a deeper conversation on funding strategy, aligned partner messaging, and outreach so the project can stay coordinated as we seek funding for the remainder of the work to complete the project in full.
Assisting the PMG Thank you, Councilor Herbold.
So the Rose Quarter project was selected as one of 3 projects nationally for America Forward's technical assistance.
America Forward provides value to the project through their nationally recognized expertise and is led by former Undersecretary to Chris— former USDOT Undersecretary Christopher Coase, former Washington Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar, and former USDOT Advisor Julian Reinbeck.
We've, as a group, we've discussed several ways to continue to strengthen the project's approach.
And one of the primary themes that the project management group has recently assembled around is the shift of thinking of all the development economic opportunity that's happening in the district and not just focusing on the transportation project itself.
This is still in development.
But we're working with America Forward to stand up a group to provide leadership around the broader district as a whole with representation from everything that's going on in the area.
This is similar to what's been done in this city in the past for things such as the Portland Streetcar and Pearl District development and other projects and big developments.
We're also working as a group on a presentation for Governor Kotek's Transportation Vision Workgroup that's working towards development of recommendations for transportation funding in the 2027 legislative session.
So there's a lot of work, a lot of work ahead and a lot of work to look forward to with our project management group.
And with that, I'll turn it over to David.
David Kim
So I think a critical aspect to this project is really understanding the purpose and need and the solution or benefits that this project offers, not just at a local level, but a regional and statewide level, and to a certain extent, a national level as relates to freight mobility.
So from a safety perspective, uh, this location has some of the, uh, worst, uh, uh, crash rates in the state on the interstate system.
It, uh, is, uh, the top congestion bottleneck where we have the convergence of I-5, I-84, and I-405.
And, uh, Portland— uh, this location has the 4th worst congestion and 7th worst traffic amongst 49 major metropolitan areas across the country.
The improvements that—.
Unidentified speaker
Could you say that one more time?
David Kim
Okay, so Portland has the 4th worst congestion and 7th worst traffic amongst 49 major metropolitan areas.
And so in addition to the safety elements, we're looking at the operational piece.
Of improving traffic flow.
There's a freight mobility element to this as well as a community development and economic development.
And going to the next slide, there's also a restorative justice element.
So when the interstate was constructed in the '60s, you can see on the left a vibrant neighborhood of Albina.
And after the interstate system was constructed, It really split and displaced— split the community, the neighborhood, and displaced many of the businesses and residents of the area.
So this is an artist rendering of what the development could look like once the project is fully built out.
So having the covers in place, the covers being able to support development of businesses and potential housing.
We've worked with our partners, including Albina Vision Trust, City of Portland, TriMet, Oregon Metro, the Trailblazers, and others to look at this vision and really turn it into reality.
And as Monica mentioned, there's a lot of other investment taking place.
This is truly fertile ground and partnering with those other organizations and agencies to make this vision turn into reality.
We're adopting new and innovative approaches to make this possible.
As Monica mentioned, we're partnering with America Forward.
They're working with other communities across the country to look at best practices for how to solidify projects like this and also how to identify and secure funding at the local, state, and national levels.
The future of the Albina is being shaped by a growing network of investments from our partners.
And the partners have all stepped up, as Monica mentioned, with the PMG Group and the collaboration and the opportunities to leverage and partner in terms of that vision.
The I-5 Rose Quarter project is a foundational investment that supports these efforts.
From a transportation perspective, from a safety perspective, from reducing congestion, Thank you.
And restoring the neighborhood connections.
We're also making significant investments to the surface streets, so the walking, the biking, the transit, by constructing safer crossings.
And this highway cover will help, again, reconnect elements of these surface improvements.
So I mentioned economic and freight mobility benefits.
So this does— this project does address on the We know that Portland is the economic engine and hub for the state, and so efficient and timely and reliable movement of goods is critical.
The Oregon Trucking Association is a strong champion and advocate for this project.
It's going to save drivers nearly 2.5 million hours of travel time.
The hours of congestion here are pretty much throughout the entire day.
Loretta Smith
And then, um, I think we're going to have to take a vote on this.
David Kim
This is not just a project in terms of the outcome, but there are, what I like to say, the process is just as important as the outcome.
So there's small business elements.
We got a lot of local businesses working, but we also have a lot of local workers that are working on this project through apprenticeship programs.
And so building career opportunities and building capacity so that as they are able to work on this project, get that mentoring and family wage jobs, And wealth creation that they're able to work on other projects for the city and the state.
And so yeah, a lot of growth opportunities.
And really, this will be a catalyst for development, both from the public sector and private sector.
So the overall vision and scope of this project is illustrated on this slide.
So number one is the full build-out of the highway cover.
There'll be a new crossing at Hancock Street that'll be on top of the COVID That's number 2.
And then numerous multimodal facility improvements such as for bicyclists, pedestrians, as well as transit users.
And the streetcar will be going through here as well.
We're also looking at new connectivity.
With the construction of a pedestrian bicycle bridge over the interstate.
That's number 4, and you could see that in the teal color.
And then certainly we'll be adding aux lanes and wider shoulders in each direction to really improve the operation of interstate through this corridor.
And then lastly, we're looking to relocate the I-5 southbound off-ramp.
Today it The off-ramp terminates at Broadway, and we want to move that further to the south so you don't have cars from the interstate entering into the middle of the COVID area.
So the construction that is underway— so Monica mentioned that we broke ground last August.
We are working on some stormwater facilities to address the runoff as part of the Portland Harbor Agreement.
So we have both a water quality detention facility there as well as some stormwater detention facilities under the I-5 or I-405 interstate area.
And then on the main line, the plan is to work on some seismic retrofit under the structure.
There's bridge work.
And then we have the extension of an existing aux lane.
So currently there's an aux lane between the Moda thank you.
So we have an existing ramp on I-84.
We're looking to extend that aux lane to the Morrison Bridge.
And so part of the project will also preserve the existing concrete deck.
So redecking the concrete this summer.
And that works— what Monica will speak to as it relates to the closure, about 2,000 feet of concrete that's really just in bad shape.
And then looking at installing a sign bridge that will help drivers that are unfamiliar with the area to navigate through thank you.
As I mentioned, the process is just as important as the outcome.
And, you know, with every project, there are stories to be told.
And we have a video here that demonstrates the impact that these projects have on small businesses and workers.
And so there's also a link to this video on YouTube that should be in your packet.
So Monica, I'll let you go ahead and run the video.
Unidentified speaker
Councilor Smith.
David Kim
I've been doing this for over 30 years.
Going across the Brooklyn Bridge when I was like 6 years old, I seen these sparks off to the side and I was like, Dad, what are those fireworks?
And he was like, that's the guy welding.
I was like, well, that's what I want to do.
I want to be a welder.
So I met Jeff about a year ago.
Jeff was talking about the bridge project, and I've loved bridges ever since I went across that bridge at 6 years old.
This job, it's a great opportunity for me and for us in the community.
Raymour, not just coming from a business standpoint, Jeff Moreland, he's under the headship of the supreme being of the universe, you know, spiritually.
Really sincere in helping people, saying, I'm gonna give you a shot, let's do it.
I see employment by the community for the community.
I see growth in the community.
This is home.
Portland is home.
I love helping my community, training them in welding.
Boom, take the test, now you're making $35 an hour.
And I'll have to say— oh, by the way, we also used a local media group.
Unidentified speaker
Sorry.
Sorry.
David Kim
We used a local small business to create this video.
But I'll have to say that certainly as public agencies, we have the ability to set targets and goals.
But to achieve success stories like this, you have to have a contractor that is committed.
And having the Hamilton-Sund team in partnership with Waymark Construction, we've been able to advance apprenticeship, hit our targets for minority workers and small business and apprenticeship and TERO and DBE.
So, and that's one, Powerful aspect with a construction manager general contractor delivery method, what's known as CMGC, is we have a lot more flexibility and influence on not just the what, but the how.
Unidentified speaker
Thanks, David.
I see a couple hands risen.
We're going to shift from this into the closure.
So if we want to take questions.
Okay.
I think we can wait.
Okay.
With our questions, Jen.
Let's keep going.
I'll keep going.
Okay.
So now shifting into the construction closures this summer and fall.
You may have seen in the news and have likely heard starting in early May, we had a news release announcing this to the public around the 5-week closure that will start in September and run through October.
So I'm going to walk through the work we've been doing, how we got to the— and arrived at the construction approach, what we anticipate the traffic impacts to be, and how we're getting the word out and our ongoing coordination to make sure this is successful as possible.
So starting really quick before I dive into that 5-week closure, as I mentioned before, we do have a 14-hour closure this summer.
So this closure will be a full closure of northbound and southbound lanes in the Rose Quarter project area to install that sign bridge that David mentioned in the scope slide for safe navigation once construction is complete.
This closure is planned to be 14 hours and will start at 10:00 PM on a Saturday and open up no later than 12:00 PM on Sunday.
But we will reopen sooner if the work is completed quicker.
So then diving into the big closure this fall, the work that we're doing.
So we are doing structural repairs to the surface and surface replacement of the I-5 southbound roadway in this area.
So this section of road was built 60 years ago with the construction of I-5, and the concrete bridge deck in this area was last replaced in 1985.
So it is well past its 25-year design life.
And as you're aware, As you're probably aware, driving through this area, there's significant potholes and cracks and ruts and damage to the surface.
And if repairs are delayed any further, there is a worry that this bridge deck damage can further lead to more damage to the bridge structure itself, which is more costly repairs in the future and longer closures.
Once complete, the replaced bridge surface is designed to last 25 years or more.
So it'll be a long time before it'll need to be replaced again.
Thank you.
And this area, and I'll mention this a little bit further in the options that we considered, but this area of I-5 is unique and difficult to work in because it is very narrow and only 2 lanes.
It is 38 feet wide, so there is not very wide shoulders.
And I'll expand a little bit more on how that kind of went into our decision-making.
First, just as an example, you may recall, may or may not recall, in 2024, a hole formed in I-5 and an emergency closure was needed at 4:45 PM to repair the bridge deck during peak rush hour traffic.
So the picture on the right is from underneath the bridge structure near the 405 interchange, looking up through a hole in the bridge.
So these kinds of last-minute emergency repairs and closures will be more common if the necessary repairs aren't completed this fall.
And so here, there's no sound to this.
We just have a A time-lapse video that shows a bridge deck repair in rural Oregon, much smaller scale, but this helps demonstrate the work that we will be doing in the process.
So first, the team will implement traffic control and signage and the communications.
You can see they're removing the existing deck.
It's about a little over 2 inches of concrete gets removed by sections.
So with a micro-milling machine and then coming back with a water blasting machine, imagine extremely high-powered pressure washer, and then they go back by hand and repair weaker areas of the deck where there may be holes and maybe reinforcement is exposed.
This one was again just a smaller closure overnight, so I'll let the nighttime go.
So then after the deck repairs themselves are complete, a new concrete overlay will be placed.
You can see here they're doing final cleaning of the deck and then starting to pour the concrete overlay.
Once the overlay is poured, so once the concrete is poured and finished, you can see they're placing blankets and curing compound.
So this will cure for a few days.
We will install bridge expansion joints between each bridge.
And then on the Rose Quarter project, you don't see it here, but on the Rose Quarter project, we will do saw cut a new concrete texture for skid resistance, then eventually stripe and reopen to traffic.
A few things I wanted to highlight that you can see in this video.
Crews will be working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the closure.
They'll maximize concurrent work as much as possible.
You can see a lot of equipment and people working simultaneously on different operations to get this work done as fast as possible.
We'll have multiple machines, multiple crews.
Our team has worked with ODOT engineers and others using— to use the latest technology in rapid curing concrete to get things opened up as quick as possible.
And really every hour of the schedule is accounted for, and there'll be, you know, times at the end where the concrete is curing for the last pour.
But other than that, there is work going 24/7.
And like I mentioned, we looked at different options.
So we looked at 3 different options when evaluating how to approach this work.
So first, single lane closure, and this was deemed really infeasible due to that limited width in the area.
There's not enough width in this area of I-5 to safely have crews working in one lane, have a barrier, a safety barrier in between the crews and the traveling public, and then have enough room for the traveling public to travel through that area.
We also have, you know, safety risks.
If there wasn't a barrier there and just cones, you run the risk of traffic and the workers coming into contact with each other, and that is a very serious risk.
There's also concerns, potential poor concrete quality, as you can— on bridges with live traffic, there's vibration, and pouring concrete next to that vibration, there's a potential for poor If it was feasible, we did look at duration.
It would be nearly 4 months longer than the scheduled complete closure and would add roughly $4.5 to $7 million in added cost.
We looked at weekend closures as a second option, and that was ruled out due to major inefficiencies.
As you can imagine, setting up and taking down major traffic control every weekend and not being able to get a lot of work done in one weekend.
I think that's a good point.
We also had the same concrete quality and durability concerns from— for having multiple small concrete pours with multiple joints between those concrete pours.
And then the biggest reason this was ruled out, this would extend across 2 summers of full weekend closure, every weekend for 2 summers, and add roughly $6 to $9 million in additional project costs.
Thank you.
So ultimately, we landed after a lot of consideration on a continuous 5-week closure.
And this approach is the cheapest, the fastest, the safest for the workers, and provides the highest quality concrete and longest lasting bridge deck that will live up to its 25-year design life.
Now shifting into what the closure will look like.
As I mentioned earlier, the closure is the closure is scheduled to begin on Friday, September 11th, and will last up to 5 weeks.
We'll open up sooner if the work is completed sooner.
And starting from the north, so on the right side of the screen is a graphic showing the closure and the detour routes.
So starting from the north of that graphic, the southbound off-ramp from I-5 to I-405 will be open and all I'll expand on the next slide, but that is the primary detour route.
The on-ramps from Greeley Avenue and I-405 northbound to I-5 southbound, those will be closed.
We will be leaving one lane open of I-5 southbound to the Broadway-Weidler exit for local traffic going to events at Moda Center, Memorial Coliseum, the Convention Center, or local access.
I-5 southbound will be completely closed from the Broadway-Weidler exit to the I-84 interchange, and this is where the work will be taking place.
You can see in that hatched work zone area at the south side of the graphic.
Both directions of I-84 will remain open to traffic, and westbound traffic will be able to get onto both I-5 north and I-5 southbound from I-84.
Thank you.
So now looking at the signed detour routes that will be in place during the closure.
So for traffic that's driving through the area and continuing on I-5 South, they will be— the signed detour route will be onto the I-405 over the Fremont Bridge and then merge back into I-5 southbound at the south end of the city.
For traffic that needs to go eastbound on 84, they'll be detoured as well onto 405, then onto I-5 North and 84 eastbound.
For, as I mentioned, the I-5 southbound traffic that is going to the Broadway-Weidler exit, so into the events area, that will remain open.
For regional traffic that doesn't need to access downtown Portland and is coming from the north, North, we are encouraging folks to take 205.
There'll be signage up at the I-5/205 split for folks that can avoid the area altogether.
But this, you know, and we recognize that these are the signed detour routes.
There will also be traffic as folks use Google Maps and other things to navigate that will spill over into the city streets.
So this will not just be impacting the freeway system, will be impacting the local streets as well.
Thank you.
And could be some of the worst traffic that the region has seen in a long time.
Travel could take 2 to 3 times longer is what our traffic modeling is currently showing, and be at the worst at peak congestion hours, extending all the way up into Washington over the I-5 bridge.
And we know this is going to be tough for everyone— travelers, freight, businesses in the area— and we do, as I mentioned, And expect people to find many parallel routes that'll stretch beyond the interstate into city streets.
And so we are working, we have been doing some coordination, we have a lot of coordination continuing with PBOT and other bureau staff to make sure we are prepared and have plans during the closure and can make it as least impactful as possible, understanding that there is going to be an impact during the closure.
Thank you.
We are using multiple strategies for traffic management during the closure.
One of them will be clearing incidents so that they don't create compounding impacts.
So traffic areas across the region will be monitored during the closure.
We'll have incident response vehicles present at different closure and detour route points and increased incident response staff on call.
Thank you.
Response staff available to provide assistance to disabled vehicles and help keep lanes open and operating as smooth as possible during the detour.
We're also, as I mentioned, working with city staff on smoothing traffic flow on local streets, adjusting ramp metering and signal timing, and collaboration— collaborating on traffic operations monitoring and safety during the closure, or ahead of the closure, and operations during the closure.
The The graphic on the right shows all the locations in Oregon of variable message signs.
We are also coordinating with our counterparts in Washington, with Washington DOT, to notify travelers, as I said, up at the 205 and I-5 split and along I-5 coming down through Vancouver.
And lastly, we're asking everyone to plan ahead.
Many drivers have no other option than to come through this area during the closure, but if there's some people that do have flexibility, in their travel plans, whether that's traveling during off-peak hours, using public transit, or planning alternate routes so that the system will function better for everyone, that will help.
And I did mention earlier, but the traffic modeling is based on nobody changing the traffic patterns or their behaviors.
And so what we've seen in the past with these larger traffic closures is people do find alternate times or alternate routes and travel patterns traffic still is bad, but ends up being better than what we've modeled.
But, you know, we're planning for the worst and hoping for the best in this.
So we're working with our team to address, you know, things as if no one were changing their traffic behaviors.
And then switching over to outreach.
So we've been building our communications outreach and engagement approach based on past closures in the region, as well as examples of other projects in our neighboring states to the north and south that have had successful managing— success in managing and mitigating some of the traffic by executing a good communication strategy.
So our goal overall is to create many touches and reduce surprises with the closure using lessons learned from those previous closures and other projects.
We want everyone to be as prepared as possible and plan for the impacts during the closure.
Recently, we've been coordinating, as I mentioned, with WSDOT and their team doing the long-duration closures up in the Seattle area on the Revive I-5 project.
We're preparing a range of materials to share out through these outreach efforts and working with people in a variety of ways.
We'll be attending local events, engaging the media, distributing information through open houses, ODOT channels and using ODOT social media as well as paid advertising campaign and collaborating with our partner agencies and other organizations throughout the city to get this message out.
You can see on the screen our outreach schedule.
It's ongoing and it will be continuing through the closure and after the closure.
We will be doing outreach and coordination throughout the summer.
Which will include mailers and social media and advertising campaign, meeting with the community organizations, and ongoing touchpoints with our government and partner audiences.
We'll also be sharing a messaging toolkit and graphics, and I will— that's a little bit more on the next slide— with these audiences that you can, as I mentioned, distribute and amplify this message through as many channels as possible.
And then during the closure, we'll be continuing the ongoing communications campaign and after the closure, we will follow up on how everything went because we will be doing the northbound closure next year.
So we want to make sure that we understand the lessons learned and make improvements for next year as well.
This is just some of logos of some of the outreach that we've done.
We've done a lot of outreach and coordination, but there's a lot more to be done in the next several months, both at the communications and the technical level.
We started outreach in spring 2025.
Thank you.
To a variety of partner organizations, local government, transit agencies, event centers, hospital emergency services, freight and business organizations.
And we also, right before the public launch, hosted 2 webinars for local, regional, and federal elected officials to attend.
And then this is a lot of words, but we have a lot more outreach and technical coordination planned over the coming months leading up to the closure, including outreach to local commissions and committees, partner agencies, major events, community organizations, neighborhood organizations and faith groups, business associations, freight distributors, and large employers in the region.
And at a technical level, we also have ongoing coordination with, as I mentioned, with PBOT, emergency responders, and other bureaus within the city and project partners to make sure everyone's operations run as smooth is possible during the closure, understanding that there will be an impact to operations while I-5 is closed.
And I can't emphasize enough the importance of staying informed and sharing the details of the closure with everyone in the region.
As I mentioned, our team has developed a toolkit and we'll be adding more information to that toolkit soon.
We have a link on our website that we've been sharing.
Thank you.
With all of our partners who have the ability to share fact sheets, share sample newsletters that can get integrated into newsletters, graphics, and a whole list of resources.
People can also sign up for notifications on our project website and reach out with any questions or concerns that the team will work to address.
And I've listed Rose Gerber, who's here in the audience today.
She is our public information officer and is our point of contact for communications.
She's also happy to take any questions, um, or any, uh, be our single point of contact for communications.
And so that concludes my presentation, and happy to open it up for questions and happy to go back to any slide if we need to.
Thank you, Monica, and thank you, David.
Um, great overview.
Um, I'm still in shock, um, when I think about this and the impact, and I know we're going to have a lot of questions, and for you and others, just just to note too that we have Director Millicent Williams in the audience also, um, and Caitlin Ruff, I think, to answer questions should we want to get into, uh, PBOT-related questions.
But my head's just spinning about 405.
Oh boy.
Uh, and, and the alternative routes.
I just— it's already— it's bad there now.
It's just— I, I can't— it's really hard for me to imagine.
I'd love to see a map in the future of all the— what you're fantasizing as the parallel routes and, and what that means.
But, um, with that, we'll, we'll just turn to my colleagues.
I think, uh, Councilor Koyama Lane already had her hand up first.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Thank you, Chair.
Um, first, I want— thank you for being here, and I want to highlight how the highway cover, that part of the project, is so important and reconnects and repairs some of the harms that community thank you.
I'm very supportive of that.
And I also have some questions about this project that have been informed by different conversations I've had with community members.
I'm hearing concerns from community about when the IBR tolling commences, that diversion onto I-205 and surrounding surface streets will cause congestion and safety, air quality concerns.
Can one of you explain or share what data ODOT is planning to collect during this I-5 South closure?
It seems like it's an opportunity to gather some real data to track behaviors and get information.
David Kim
Yeah, so with this closure, we will have real-time data as well as historical data.
So we're currently collaborating with the region and headquarters about what is the data we want to capture in terms of the volume of traffic, the diversion, where's the traffic going.
We're still trying to figure out what potential reports we'll want to pull and then share that with IBR.
I'm sure IBR is going to be very interested.
So there's going to be immense amounts of data, and we're currently strategizing how do we use that data in a way that can inform future— current and future conversations.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Great.
And if there are community members or even us up here that want to follow that, what type of data you're going to end up gathering, how would we do that?
David Kim
I think at this point, I think following up with Rose Gerber.
Right now, I think this is the 3rd time we've been asked about data and information.
And so as we have more information, we can reach out to those that have interest in the data and what reports are made available.
Certainly, we're going to be also collaborating with the IBR team.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
And related to—.
Unidentified speaker
Oh, go ahead.
And collaborating with Millicent and her team.
That's wonderful.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Related to data collection, do we know how many serious injuries and deaths have occurred in the Rose Quarter, say, in the last 5 years?
David Kim
I don't have that data offhand, but that's certainly data we can pull together in terms of minor accidents to severe injury to fatalities.
But the chart that we had earlier, this location is in the top 5 or 10% of what we call the Safety Priority Index system.
So every time there's an accident, the individuals submit DMV records.
We pull that data together statewide and then look at where there's the most frequency and severity of crashes.
And so this location has, again, top 5 or top 10%.
So we can get that information to you.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
And are you separating out the difference between, like, Vision Zero, serious injuries, and fatalities?
David Kim
I don't know that we make a distinction between Vision Zero.
I think the way the data works for the state system is a minor fender bender or severe injury or going to the emergency room or there's a fatality.
Unidentified speaker
Okay.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
And maybe this is a question for someone more at the city, but I'm wondering if someone can speak to funding and thinking about Portland's 2027 legislative priorities with respect to funding this, and there's a lot of other funding gaps for transportation.
How does this project play a role in that?
Not sure, Chair, who's the exact person to bring up for that one, if it's Director Williams or—.
Unidentified speaker
Well, clearly we're going to have that at the top of our legislative agenda for more funding for transportation generally, but you're talking about yeah, and how much does this—.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Does this project take up all of that, or is there going to be room for other priorities as well?
Unidentified speaker
I don't— maybe that's an unfair question for Director Williams.
I'm not sure, but you want to take a stab at it?
Millicent Williams
I'll take a stab.
Good afternoon.
I'm Millicent Williams, Director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Thank you so much, uh, councilors and committee.
Uh, Councilor Koyama Lane, to answer your To answer your question, currently the city is not an investor in this project.
It does not mean that we would not be an investor and that we would not work together with ODOT to identify funding sources to fill the gap.
How we would prioritize this would be informed by city leadership in terms of how we would approach it with the appropriate folks at the state level.
Thank you.
Level in the— I don't want to say advocacy, but in our efforts to identify the best ways to address what we recognize to be a significant shortfall.
Currently, zero investment, but both David Kim and I, as well as Monica and several others at ODOT, former Director Chris Strickler, we've all talked about how yeah, and I'm not even saying that the—.
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Thinking about the city putting in money, but just thinking about how when we go and advocate, is this kind of our transportation project, this freeway project?
We see— we saw, you know, Safe Routes to Schools get cut.
Is it— is this kind of our— are we using all that up?
And then my last question is, I think, is there a way that we can is just kind of at this point looking at this project, I am hearing more and more constituents ask, are there alternatives at a lower cost?
Are there any cost savings approaches or alternatives that can be explored at this stage?
Unidentified speaker
Can I just say something at this point?
Is that we're right now, we're just looking at what is this 1C or 1B.
We're just looking We're not looking at the full package here.
We're just looking at the kind of the asset management, the potholes on I-5, if you will.
I mean, this is just a very preliminary piece of taking care of what we own as a state.
We're not talking yet.
I mean, we don't have the pathway to eminent domain.
I think that's a good point.
I don't think, because some of that money has been pulled.
So right now we're just taking care of what we own as a state.
Am I right in making that assumption?
David Kim
So Chair Clark, the project we have today, there's a seismic element for resiliency, the bridge deck preservation, but then there's some minor widening yes.
There's some grading that's gonna take place to— or barrier adjustments to incorporate that extension of the aux lane and then the sign bridges.
So this project is really a critical element to the rest of the project.
The challenge that we faced is with the rescission of the funding and no transportation funding package, there was not the funding to do the starting of the COVID work.
We do have design funds, right-of-way funds, and utility relocation funds to initiate design for Phase 1C, which would get us to about 30% of the COVID And so the big ask of the legislature is gonna be funding the construction phase of 1C.
And then we'll have Phase 2, which is the remainder of the COVID work and construction of the auxiliary lanes.
So you are correct, this is really an asset management, seismic resiliency with a little bit of operational improvement and teeing it up for the next broader phase.
The push the reason for the push to get as much construction done today as possible is really a cost-risk management.
The longer we wait, the more it's going to cost.
And so we're trying to leverage all the construction dollars available while we have a contractor on board.
Anything to add?
Tiffany Koyama Lane
No, just that, that last question, which is kind of bigger.
You know, are there conversations around any other alternatives or approaches at this So we went through a robust environmental assessment.
David Kim
So the scope of the project has been set.
So if there's any changes to scope, whether it be a scope addition or reduction, we'll have to evaluate whether that impacts the environmental documents.
We are evaluating value engineering.
So are there ways to do things differently?
This closure is a good example, right, of we looked at different options and alternatives, looked at the impact, looked at the cost, and landed on the option that we thought was the best.
So you're not ruling out We're working with our design teams, we're working with a contractor evaluating are there other alternatives and options to reduce cost or to limit impacts or to deliver faster.
And that's the beauty of CMGC is you actually have the contractor that's gonna build the project working with the design team.
And so we've gone through a series of value engineering sessions and we've identified some opportunities and we can get really technical here, but we've identified some some opportunities to reduce cost.
Okay.
Opportunities and are, are incorporating those, uh, opportunities into the design.
Unidentified speaker
Thank you, uh, Councilor.
I think it's hard right now.
We're confronted with the closure.
Yeah.
And, and what that means.
And, and it's really taking care of what we own as a state.
But you're right, it's in a larger environment, a larger project that's coming.
So I appreciate you bringing that up, because this is just one step forward to something larger, and there's still lots of questions about how we're going to finance that.
But I think right now, for me personally, it's like, how, how do we avoid shutting down the city completely with this project, this first phase?
That's what really concerns me.
Um, Councilor Green.
Mitch Green
Uh, thank you, Chair Clark.
Thanks so much for the presentation today.
I just have a few I have a few questions to help me kind of understand, I think, what would be typical project status update parameters or pieces of information.
So my first question is, and before I get going, I echo Councilor Clark, I'm also concerned about the immediate impact, and I've got some questions later that might also be relevant for Director Williams as well.
But what's the current estimate for the total cost of this project?
I know we're talking about one phase of it, But that is a critical input into the broader cost picture.
Unidentified speaker
Yeah, so we, thank you, Councilor Green.
We are working on an updated cost estimate right now.
So the last time the project was estimated was for— was assuming the Reconnecting Communities Grant and the 2027 legislative session, or 2025, apologies, legislative package that would have funded that work and the associated schedule with that.
So now that we have agreed upon scope as of a couple months ago for Phase 1C and a delivery schedule to seek funding in 2027.
We are updating our cost estimate associated with that delivery schedule and anticipate that to be coming out at the end of the summer.
Okay.
So the current published cost estimate is roughly $2 billion plus or minus, but we anticipate that to go up because the delivery schedule okay, that is helpful.
Mitch Green
Thank you.
And so I'm interested, you had a few bullet points on your early slides about just the interaction effect with the Reconnecting Neighborhoods Grant, which is a really important piece of this.
I echo the support for capping this part of the freeway as an effort to sort of reimagine a new vision for Albina, if you will.
But from what I understand is because we did lose the grant, we are now looking to amend STIP and MTIP to try to find ways to backfill that.
I'm curious, and I understand you've got it laid out on your— OTC has already done their part, and later this month or next month you expect the amendment to Phase B and MTIP to— that conversation will unfold.
Unidentified speaker
Yeah.
Mitch Green
But what would be the impact I mean, those dollars, those amendments would sort of suggest reprioritizing things, if I'm not mistaken, 'cause you don't, you know, it's creating new resources, right?
So what are we not funding?
And maybe this is an unfair question for you, but I'm curious to know what are we not funding by funding that and amending these plans?
Unidentified speaker
Yeah, so I'll start and then fill in, David.
So we worked, this was part of, as I mentioned, in December, the Transportation Commission gave us direction to move forward with a Phase 1B but wanted more partner coordination to get that alignment on what that scope was.
And so we worked with our PMG partners to look at the remaining scope of Phase 1 that we had all agreed was the next work.
So that includes the first third of the COVID work on I-5 between the Broadway-Weidler interchange and 84.
We looked at—.
Thank you.
The remaining funding that we did have, so roughly $170 million is what we had remaining in construction funding, and worked with our design team and our contractor and our partners to look at what we could build with that amount of money.
Unfortunately, we could not start the highway cover.
That is a large chunk associated with the roughly $380 million that was rescinded.
So we agreed that the next phase of work will be the work, what we're calling Phase 1B.
So it's on I-5 from I-84 in primarily the northbound direction, work over the Rose Quarter Transit Center and at that I-84 to I-5 interchange merge, and then progressing up towards the highway cover.
So we as a project management group and partner group prioritized that work to, as David said, continuing making the best use of the funding that we have available.
But key to that—.
Thank you.
Was a commitment to work together to seek funding for Phase 1C, which is the work that completes the first phase, completes the first third of the highway cover.
Part of that is we do, as David mentioned, have $30 million in right-of-way funding available.
And so as part of our commitment to doing— to progressing that work and commitment to starting the highway cover and seeking funding for it, we are looking at early acquisition of those right-of-way parcels.
There are some willing sellers in the area that could be used for construction staging and progressing that work.
And then showing our commitment as ODOT to move forward with the rest of that project.
Mitch Green
Okay, thank you.
That's helpful.
I wanna move to the Governor's Transportation Funding Workgroup that you mentioned.
I'd like to know if tolling or congestion pricing is back in consideration after being kind of taken off the table recently.
David Kim
This project team has not been close to those conversations.
I believe there is a committee that's looking at the various funding options.
Our focus has really just been on the Rose Quarter project and preparing ourselves to present and explain that project.
So I'm not in a position to speak to what other potential funding opportunities or We're going to have to go up the food chain.
Mitch Green
We'll go up the food chain.
Thank you.
I just wanted to put it on the record that that was an important kind of sort of glimpse into what I think the city is going to need to— I mean, this committee even may perhaps need to discuss that, but I think we'll go up the food chain.
Thank you.
I think the last question I have is really sort of probably mostly appropriate for Director Williams.
But I think what I'm worried about, and there's no way to avoid this, I agree the full continuous closure is probably the most effective way to do this.
It's the least costly approach and you're gonna get better results most likely from it.
But it will send traffic off onto these surface streets.
I've driven these routes myself.
I know where they are.
They're right along the freeway wall and other sort of, there's interstate and the like.
What I'm really concerned about though is then drivers are frustrated, and in that frustration they sort of make moves that are reckless, dangerous, and put people at risk.
And so what are we doing to kind of anticipate that and mitigate, you know, some of those traffic safety risks?
Millicent Williams
Thank you, Councilor.
Our teams have been working closely together, of course, as has been As has been shared, the information about the closure began to develop over a year ago, and that is when our teams were working most closely together about what we might do.
As we've gotten closer to the date, our traffic teams are engaging to talk about the mitigation strategies.
We didn't show the map that we're using as a baseline for information about where we anticipate some of that traffic will go.
But those are the corridors where we'll be focusing some intentional efforts to ensure that there's appropriate not just signage but adjustments to signal timing, having cameras in place to ensure that we're monitoring what's happening so that we can on the fly make changes should we need to.
And again, some of that really critical communication is what we're going to be depending very heavily on, both from making sure that people know what's happening, understand what's happening, and how to best get around.
Even in those spaces where we anticipate there to be significant increased capacity that we'll need to handle, again, those are the corridors where we'll be paying the most attention and making those most significant changes.
It's not just about the It's infrastructure, but it's about the people that are going to be using it.
Thank you.
Not just one or two schools, it's several schools.
And so if you're a D.C.— excuse me, a PPS parent, you've already begun to receive information that when school starts, this is going to be one of the things that you have the opportunity to plan for and around, especially if you're in close proximity to this work.
So there's a great deal of coordination that's happening.
Sameer Kanal
We are working We with the city staff.
Millicent Williams
We are are working with the city meeting staff.
As a large group monthly, but there are also meetings that are happening intermittently in between those meetings to ensure that that coordination effort is moving forward in a way that is going to be beneficial and create as little impact as possible.
The numbers, while challenging in many ways to review, Don't leave us like this.
You know, there is some hope.
It will require a great deal of partnership, though, not just between our organizations, but the whole of community is going to have to consider how it might be able to make some adjustments to ensure that people are able to move around safely.
Mitch Green
I appreciate that.
And then I'm sure these conversations are underway, but this seems like an opportunity to work with Public Safety Service Area to contemplate maybe some targeted—.
Millicent Williams
We actually are.
We actually are doing that.
We have a meeting scheduled for Monday with internal support teams to begin to discuss all of the challenges that we anticipate that we'll need to address.
Mitch Green
Thank you so much.
Unidentified speaker
Thank you, Councilor Green.
Councilor Kanal.
Sameer Kanal
Thank you, Chair Clark.
I appreciate it.
Thanks everyone for being here.
I'm— I've got a ton of questions, so I will do maybe half of mine and then I'll circle back into the, into the queue.
This is the first time I'm getting details on this.
I'll just say I'm not sure how much of this is an ODOT responsibility, but I represent this area.
This is my district, and I've gotten no offers of briefings or specific information.
I am really grateful for the number of people that an organization that are on slide 27 as people who were talked to, but not D2 folks.
And this is why it's so important that we have a D2 councilor on this committee for the first time.
I've actually been offered more briefings by community than by official staff from any agency on this project, including a couple organizations who are probably watching online or even in this room.
So I will be following up and asking for a one-on-one briefing.
I'll just say, because of the fact that there's so much interest in this publicly, we are getting a ton of outreach from our constituencies.
And I just— we're not resourced, and I don't mean money or staff, I mean information to provide out with it.
So at some point I'll probably be following up, but I would love to ask if one— if a representative from both ODOT and PBOT would be willing to join me at a town hall help explain to my constituents what's going to happen to them.
David Kim
Councilor Kanal, we'd be happy to, uh, participate in a town hall, get the word out.
Millicent Williams
Yes, Councilor, we'd be happy.
Sameer Kanal
I appreciate that, and, and I, I'll be valuing the information as a councilor, but also as someone who takes this route fairly frequently, including this morning.
Um, so strongly support the LID project.
ABT, want to be very helpful in, in any way I can on that.
I also know that there's a lot of critical work in what's already happening— the stormwater facilities, the pedestrian and bicycle improvements to come, um, avoiding the completely unnecessary bottleneck where it goes from 3 to 2 to back to 3 in, in like a half second.
Um, it has been a problem for years in that area.
Um, so I, I do appreciate that.
I am concerned about several different things— safety So from a safety perspective, Councilor Green covered a lot of it in terms of major disruption to local residents.
And I'm not sure if ODOT knows this, but I know PBOT does.
We had a 55-ish percent reduction in traffic deaths in the other 3 districts of the city last year.
We had about a— we had one fewer in my district.
Had we had the same impact in reducing traffic reducing deaths in the other 3 districts, we would have had 2 fewer deaths.
Thank you.
Traffic deaths in D2 that we did in the other 3, I'd have 10 more neighbors and 10 more constituents from just last year.
And so because we're the worst on traffic deaths in the city, I am concerned about this.
And the data we have from PBOT is that most of that actually has to do with proximity to and the access points around the freeways.
So 84 as well, but particularly I-5 near where our high crash corridors are Interstate Killingsworth, all that.
So because these are my neighbors, this is my district, and I'm worried about lives that'll be lost and the confusion around it, I want to make sure that there's as much assistance, signage, disruption minimizing activity that we can do.
Um, and I'm concerned about— so I'll start with Greeley, uh, in a minute here, but, uh, Greeley's the best way to get around the closure, right?
So having that be closed too is concerning, right?
That's the—.
That'll be more for the later one because it kind of joins right up where you're talking about for the 5-week closure.
But is the anticipation that we're going to be putting people onto interstate entirely at that point as you come southbound on Greeley?
Yes, Councilor.
Okay.
Unidentified speaker
The on-ramp to Greeley is closed so that—.
Sameer Kanal
So folks wouldn't be able The on-ramp from Greeley to I-5 South?
Yep.
There's an on-ramp that joins up and makes it a 2-lane road for a while that's primarily used coming off of Swan Island.
It's got all the FedEx, UPS trucks, is most of the people who join up there.
But it ends up becoming a 2-lane road for a period of time, and so I'm concerned about that specific spot as opposed to the other 2 spots.
Thank you.
This is a place where exactly what Councilor Green was talking about, people trying to get around the traffic will think there is an opportunity to do so.
This is right by Hazelnut Grove.
This is— so there's also concerns about folks who are pedestrians in that area too.
So I just wanted to flag that.
On the maintenance side, how this will not— the plan that you are making based off of Yes.
I'm concerned that it will create greater cost for PBOT in terms of maintenance of surrounding city streets that will have more traffic diverted onto them in the case of a 5-week continuous closure than in the case of intermittent weekend closures.
And I'm not sure if there's any plan to Thank you.
I have a question for the city staff.
I know that there's been a lot of talk about the need to compensate for that increased wear and tear on roads in the city streets.
Specifically, Broadway is an example of a street that has needed some work for a while.
There's potholes all over the place.
So my— I have a 2-part question.
The ODOT side of it is, what is the mitigation for that in this plan?
And, and have you costed that out relative to interim of the weekend versus continuous closure?
And for PBOT, how are we going to be stepping up the work that PBOT does in this area to make up for that increased wear and tear?
Unidentified speaker
Can I just say, Councilor Kanal, I love these questions.
It's about time we get some compensation, right?
Sameer Kanal
Yeah, I'm building to that.
David Kim
Well, so from an impact standpoint, I don't I don't believe that we evaluated the wear and tear on city streets with the increased traffic flow.
I'll be honest, there's no plan today to compensate the city for the increased traffic.
The focus of ODOT and the city is about safety.
We know where the hotspots are for pedestrians and cyclists and schools.
And so we have our own modeling.
We have the city's modeling.
We're connecting, identifying where the potential hotspots are, and then assessing what safety improvements can we make.
Safety is first and foremost what our focus is on during this closure.
Traffic management is the second piece.
And so we expect that as drivers experience delays in the first week, we expect there'll be changes in behavior.
I can say that 6% of the traffic that is coming from Washington people going to Washington can use I-205 because they're going through Portland.
But the hours of congestion are going to be extended about 3 hours longer in the PM peak.
People are going to— might leave earlier, but really it's the afternoon PM peak where we expect the traffic to be longer.
So I think it's something we'll have to take a look at to see where are, based on the data, where are we seeing increases in traffic volume and where are the impacts.
There may be wear and tear.
But for 5 weeks versus a year, the impacts may be different.
Sameer Kanal
So I appreciate that.
I just wanna point out, so Lombard, when the road dieting happened west of I-5 on Lombard, there was little to no mitigation done for the fact that a lot of that traffic got pushed to Columbia, which is fine, but also to Willamette.
And ironically, the Willamette Boulevard right.
As well as the little streets, right?
So Chautauqua is wide enough for people to get down there, but Foss isn't.
So right next to around Columbia Park, there's all this traffic that was redirected by a— this is a permanent shift, obviously, not a temporary closure, but that's a heavier— there's a lot of heavier traffic for pedestrians and bicyclists and scooters and things like that on yeah.
On Columbia.
And because it's 2 different agencies, 2 different jurisdictions, I'm trying to ask now to ensure that we don't have what happened there, which is this completely separated out situation where people are trying to get to work fast, they're turning onto Foss, and there's a kid right there.
And I've personally watched it happen where it's like slamming on the brakes, and not just once, right on the corner of either Foss and Lombard or Foss and Lamott.
So I'm curious about that, 'cause I'm trying to say we need to get this figured out before it starts.
I understand safety on ODOT streets is great and important, and I'm glad that's your first priority.
I wanna make sure that we're not just moving the safety risk to roads that aren't built for it right now.
David Kim
Right, so in terms of mitigation and addressing yes.
We recognize that there's going to be diversion, so we are collaborating with PBOT to identify what are safety measures.
We're evaluating each high corridor that has high use of pedestrians and cyclists to say this is a hotspot.
Is there more we can do in terms of signage?
Are there opportunities for us to put in speed feedback trailers to let drivers know what their speed is?
And we're going through that process right now to see what other improvements, because this is a temporary condition.
Very different equation if it's a permanent condition where we know that I don't know the specifics to Lombard, whether that was a jurisdictional transfer or not as it relates to the road diet.
Unidentified speaker
It was.
Okay.
It's still yours.
Millicent Williams
Okay.
But happy to answer the question regarding what we might be able to do, especially in the short term, to address some of the road condition concerns that may either currently exist or that may be anticipated.
Become more prominent when this happens.
Typically what happens when we know an event is coming to town, PBOT goes out, assesses a route— parade, run, marathon, big bike ride— and we do go and do pretreatment.
We fill potholes, we refresh striping, we do all of those things to make sure that people have as safe and comfortable So if it means that we're filling a pothole, then so be it.
If it means we're doing thermoplast at a crossing, then so be it.
That's what we will do in advance of a major event coming.
With this, we recognize that a major event is coming, and to David's point, that coordination really is important for us to know where the spillover will potentially go so that we can make sure that we're addressing it.
Councilmember Herbold, one of the things that we talked about even in yesterday's meeting as we talked about this was there are a number of city agencies that have equipment that will be going onto routes that they otherwise would not be using to get to the work that they're going to do.
So we're talking about how we can make those adjustments even to either, either the pattern of work, the schedule of work, whether we put something else later or earlier to ensure that we don't find ourselves on top of each other trying to solve problems for folks who are traveling in the right-of-way.
But those are things that we're going to be able to do.
The maintenance operations team recognizes that there's going to be a need for us to shift the way that we operate a little bit to be able to accommodate the needs that we'll be seeing.
So, so some of those response times, some of the things that we get calls about all the time, we'll be able to prioritize addressing those.
Will we be able to take care of everything in advance of this closure?
I cannot guarantee you that, but I can guarantee that we will try really hard to make sure that we do.
The coordination is of critical importance.
I have underscored that many, many times in communication with ODOT, both in writing and in conversations that this is not a place where we have an option of failure to show up well for not just the city but for the region.
And so we're going to be working on that.
Sameer Kanal
I appreciate that.
And I have one more question, but just to follow up on this, I think ensuring that we are— you recently sent us some information on how PBOT prioritizes prioritizes projects, and having this be a core part of the criteria to ensure that these particular roads that the, the will be the alternate routes is really important.
And since I gave one example on Greeley that I think is closer to where ODOT's jurisdiction is, I'll give one for you as well, which is further up, because I still think there'll be additional traffic even given the interstate route that you can take from Greeley.
Where the little zigzag is, up just north of Adidas headquarters, there are crosswalks there that have limited visibility.
And people come with bikes, people come jogging.
Usually if someone's walking, you can see it.
I personally have been rear-ended there stopping for somebody who came out of nowhere a few months ago.
And so I would love to see that improved in general, but I think it's particularly timely for that.
My last question, and then I'll pass it off.
There was a— there's a slide, I think it's 23, where it says, and it's been referenced here, that a lot of this is about communication to encourage drivers to plan ahead and change travel, which I assume means mode of travel if they're able.
TriMet's being cut right now.
And so I'm not sure how we can expect without additional frequency of the Yellow Yes.
I know that there's been a lot of talk about the TriMet rail line and several of the buses for folks who are taking or who could be taking transit to do so effectively.
Is there any sort of bridge funding going on to help boost up the frequency during this, you know, 5 weeks, which is also, you know, you mentioned the beginning of the school year for PPS, to ensure that TriMet is whole and that people can get around?
Because it's It doesn't work to say, instead of taking a 20-minute drive, take an hour-long transit trip that doesn't need to be an hour long, but you're waiting for most of that time, right?
So is there any plan to mitigate the effects on, not to mention that some folks might want a seat on these if they're full, are there any plans to mitigate in terms of frequency for TriMet?
Unidentified speaker
Go ahead.
Thank you, Councilor.
So we have been coordinating with TriMet and unfortunately, as you mentioned, there are cuts.
We don't have funding allocated right now for additional service, but we are in conversations with them on how we can best approach this and what their ridership looks like, especially during events at Moda Center.
It already is very full during those events.
And if we're encouraging folks to take transit, So there's, there's a lot of work over the next couple months still with TriMet, but right now we do not have dedicated funding.
Sameer Kanal
Yeah, I think that's something really important to mitigate for throughout this process.
By the way, the week without driving is the 4th week of the 5 weeks that you've proposed here, so I imagine there'll already be people pushing for a greater level of transit.
Level of transit ridership.
I'll pass it off here.
I have more later.
Unidentified speaker
Thank you so much, Councilor Kanal.
And you asked some of my very own questions, so I appreciate that.
We'll turn to Councilor Smith now.
Loretta Smith
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you all for coming and giving your presentation.
As a former COBIT minority contractor, I just got one of the emails from ODOT at 1:18.
And I still get the, I still get the notices, um, that on Tuesday, June 16th, the Historic Albina Advisory Board and Community Oversight Advisory Committee, they'll be holding a meeting next week from 5 to 6, and the meeting will also be live streamed.
So I urge my, um, my members, and I know that, uh, Councilor, uh, Kanal, he was concerned about not getting briefed on stuff, and so I would also look at that too, because Different people have different information.
So that would be an opportunity for you to, uh, to look at this.
And as I was thinking about this, um, I want to be real specific.
I wanted to know if, if there are any explicit air quality safeguards that will be implemented for Harriet Tubman Middle School during construction.
Because as you know, widening the freeway, uh, it brings active lanes closer to a historically impacted school that have had lots of issues.
And so I wanted to find out if there are any zero emission or air filtration guarantees that are built into your contracts that would deal specifically with Harriet Tubman Middle School.
Unidentified speaker
Yes, thank you, Councilor.
So the work that we are doing right now is north and then south of Harriet Tubman Middle School, but we do have a significant amount of work in future phases right next to Harriet Tubman Middle School.
Okay.
And that work in our initial planning stages, we've looked at their filtration system and then the emissions of equipment working right next to them.
We've met several times, this was probably 2 to 3 years ago in the early planning stages with Portland Public Schools staff, looking at their filtration system and how often we would need to replace those filters with the additional emissions that would come with equipment near the school, but also looking at low-emission equipment and working only during the summer months.
So we would not be working during the school year, but understanding that there are still summer programs that do happen at the school as well.
Right.
Loretta Smith
Great.
And I'm really concerned about jobs, and I'm concerned about the ability to have apprenticeships and, and those kinds of things.
And so I wanted to find out if there was a percentage— I know you've already done the contract— but if there was a percentage of guarantees for minority-owned businesses and enterprises on this particular project, and if so, what were they?
Unidentified speaker
Great question.
There is a percent— there is, um, goals for both, um, unfortunately the DBE rules rescinded, but we have, we have small business goals that we are still working towards as well as workforce.
I do not know those off the top of my head, but I will get them back to our, um, our team has well exceeded those goals.
We will be reporting out.
So the, the Community Oversight Advisory Committee that you mentioned is our oversight committee over our workforce and small business development, and we report to them regularly on our on our current status.
So I will, if you don't mind, I will follow up with you.
Loretta Smith
That would be great because like me and many others, I was a former DBE contractor and I was stripped of my DBE status when this new administration came in.
And I know there are others who had similar experiences with ODOT.
And I'm wondering how many of those yes.
How many of those folks, um, were able to get recertified under this new system?
I didn't get recertified because I'm here on council, but I'm just curious of the, the drop-off of minority businesses because we were already underserved to begin with, and how many of those folks just never— you know, it's just like in COVID, they just never tried again.
Some of the kids who during COVID they never came back to school.
We lost a whole generation of children.
And I think that there's so many challenges and barriers for minority businesses.
That was a big one.
And I know that losing that $450 million, because this project is what, close to what, $67 million?
That was the project that we designed that could meet the moment.
Councilor Smith.
For the money that we had right now.
And that's why we're doing this smaller version of the Rose Quarter project.
So I'm just curious if there's some things that we can do, Director Williams, in terms of ODOT and other places, since we're going to be working on renewing the COAB.
Yes.
And I want to make sure that, you know, even in the restricted funds, if there's opportunities for us to, um, take some of those dollars and put it into places and spaces that would allow us to increase and to at least level set some of the apprenticeship opportunities so that some of these folks can be small businesses.
And, you know, there, there are a lot of big projects, IBR and others that are in the hopper, but they're not recognizing DBEs as a critical piece to the future of the project like it was before.
And so if there's anything that we do in terms of adding our technical assistance or receiving or putting out dollars, I— before I would put out some I would have some requirements to getting city money that this is— this needs to be set up so that we can, one, get folks COVID certified or have some way to certify folks and help those folks who have not gotten recertified under the new system be certified and increase the number of apprenticeships that we have because it's ridiculous.
I mean, we have a lot of money traveling through our bank accounts.
And, you know, this $2 billion that we just put out for our water, for our new water filtration center, I'm thinking we have an opportunity to leverage our position to be able to, through the Water Department and the Transportation Department, to make sure that we are improving the situation for minority businesses in this city.
And if we don't use the, the kind of muscle that we have by putting all of these projects in partnership with ODOT and the federal government into play, then what are we doing?
Why, if we're not going to leverage our position, uh, because we're, we're positioned to do all of this stuff, it just depends on what we make a priority.
So I just wanted to put it on record that, um, that should be something that our city administrator and the mayor, and when you're having these leadership conversations, that this is something that's important to me.
And I'll always ask you the same question.
I'm very consistent.
I ask the same question all the time because I want to know what's happening to our babies and what's happening to our minority communities.
So that is something that I would like to follow back up with you.
Millicent Williams
Thank you, Councilor.
We will— thank you, Councilor.
We'll make sure that we continue to do the work that we've done there is, again, a pretty— it's a significant partnership.
It's a tremendous partnership, actually.
And there are opportunities for us to, as I've challenged the team, do the right things regardless of what you call it.
If you're doing the right things for every community, then everyone will benefit in the ways that we intend.
So we do pay very close attention to that.
Thank you.
To that, we are working to make sure that people are prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that are going to be available.
Loretta Smith
And I agree with you, you have to tell people to do the right things.
But see, I know better, right?
Oh yes, because we wouldn't need the Voting Rights Act or the Civil Rights Act if people would do the right thing.
They don't do the right thing.
You have to back that up with policies and languages.
Unidentified speaker
That's right.
Loretta Smith
And you have to have people like me who are going to enforce it if we got it on the books.
So for me, yeah, we got to keep saying it.
And sometimes I just continue to say the same thing and hopefully somebody will pick up that I'm not going to stop saying it.
Millicent Williams
And we look forward to continuing to engage to ensure that we're not just reflecting that we hear you, but that we take seriously the things that you're challenging us on.
Loretta Smith
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
Unidentified speaker
Thank you, Councilor Smith.
We depend on your consistent Um, really appreciate that.
I'm going to take the liberty of asking a couple questions, then I'll turn it back over to Councilor Kanal.
Um, I'm going to just probe on that July date, that 14-hour closure.
Can you give us a better idea when that might happen?
Uh, yeah, so it is currently scheduled for July 11th.
Oh, okay, July 11th.
Millicent Williams
Great.
Unidentified speaker
July 4th, that's good.
Um, okay, thank you.
And some of my other— my questions were answered earlier.
I was going I was gonna ask you, where's the freight community?
What are they thinking?
What are they planning for?
Yeah, thank you, Chair.
We have done a lot of coordination with the freight community.
So through the design process, we go to what is called the Mobility Advisory Committee.
That is a spot for coordination and official approval for the closure through the freight community.
And so that happened over the last couple years.
Actually, just this week are going back to the freight community for an update at that Mobility Advisory Committee.
We've also, both at the technical level and then at the communications level, we've gone to several meetings with the freight community specifically around the operations that they have in the area.
And there's ongoing conversations.
Thank you.
Just north of where this—.
Yeah, just north of the area, and then using I-5 South.
I mean, I know they already have issues with congestion, so this is just going to be a multiplier.
I'm going to diverge just for a second and stick my neck out, um, and try to move myself from catastrophizing here to trying to find some silver linings, to see if there are some silver linings here.
And I'm just wondering about kind of non-traditional marketing around this and see if we can find some opportunities here.
I know that sounds a little wacky, but, you know, people are going to be stuck and looking for alternatives.
And I'm just wondering if there's some sort of downtown hotel marketing opportunity here, or just where can we find some opportunities here to— I think what is it?
What is that old saying?
Make a, a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
You know what I'm saying?
David Kim
That's the—.
Unidentified speaker
Um, and, or I'm even thinking that, you know, we all could dress up in animal suits, you know, and go to some of these hot spots and wave signs.
And, you know, we've done that at some of the schools around, you know, uh, and just try to attract more attention of the, the drivers and, uh, get them to slow down.
Just some wacky ideas, but I'm just thinking that there might be some opportunities here to do something creative.
Yes.
Loretta Smith
Oh, okay.
Millicent Williams
Councilor Clark, I did want to mention one of the things that we're going to be discussing in our meeting on Monday is how we as a city might be able to encourage different behaviors, travel time shifting, encouraging people to visit a local restaurant, do a staycation, And of course, we'll continue to engage with businesses about shifting start or end times in terms of their employees.
But one of the things that when I did emergency management work a million years ago—.
David Kim
Right.
Millicent Williams
When we would have a snowstorm invariably come at rush hour, the message was stay downtown.
And go to that local restaurant.
And it ended up providing first responders the opportunity and the transportation department the opportunity to clear the roads so that you didn't have people sitting on XYZ Highway or XYZ Road for hours running out of gas, losing their patience and other things while they're waiting to get home.
Of course, now that there are shifts in the day, There are fewer people that are in one place at one time and looking out of the window waiting for the first snowdrop to fall.
We know this is happening, so we can plan for that, and we can work with the hospitality community, the Restaurant Association, the business associations, the BIDs, or the business districts to see if there might be ways that they could help us with that.
Look at doing some promotions that help to alleviate the stress that the traveling public would feel, that the roadways would feel, by having a mass exodus or mass entrance into the city either in either direction at any point during the day.
So that's something that we're going to be discussing.
Unidentified speaker
Great.
I'm so glad to hear you say that, Director Williams.
Maybe we could even figure out a contest.
I think that's right.
To get people interested in staying downtown, spending the night or dinner or whatever it is.
Millicent Williams
Well, we do have the staycation weekend that is coming up in September.
It will be paired with the Sunday Parkways that's in September, the Downtown Sunday Parkways.
What better time?
Better time.
Unidentified speaker
Good timing.
Excellent timing.
Thank you so much.
Councilor Kanal.
Sameer Kanal
Thank you.
I guess I'll start there.
I like the idea.
I want to make sure it's not just downtown though, because the small businesses in this area are going to be affected very heavily.
I have a few questions about that.
We know that some of the interstate travel is going to be diverting to 205, and some of the businesses, you know, I'm thinking about up in Jantzen Beach, Hayden Island, Delta Park area, Jubitz, that sort of area, right, are going to be affected by the lack of traffic.
Sure.
Or less traffic that are coming through from those— you said 6%, but I imagine there's more that's within the sort of catchment area we're talking about between the 205 area.
So wanted to talk about how we're supporting those businesses.
I don't think there's anyone from Prosper here today, but I wanted to follow up and maybe ask if you're aware of anything from the Prosper side in terms of providing support to small businesses.
I don't know.
Millicent Williams
I don't think— I know we can talk.
We can talk about it.
I was looking at Caitlin to see if there had been some conversations with Prosper.
Not yet.
But thank you for placing it in our consciousness.
We will make sure that as a part of this conversation, we're looking not just, like you said, at the downtown, but the, the full catchment area, the full project impact area, so that we can make sure that there are strategies in place to support businesses large and small, mom-and-pops all the way up to your Fred Meyers, to make sure that folks are able to do everything that they need to do.
And when I talk about a Fred Meyer, I'm also talking about it from us going there to get our groceries, but also Fred Meyer being able to deliver said groceries.
So all of those things are are really, really important, and continuity is something that we can't risk not having in the city.
So I'll make sure that we talk about that with Prosper.
Sameer Kanal
Yeah, and I appreciate that.
I think I'm really glad you brought up their ability to get goods to the place.
And obviously this is not PBOT's responsibility to solve, but I'm just going to put this in I just wanna put into the record for SEDSA and Prosper, which is, you know, when I started working at the city in 2021, I used to have to go to different Fred Meyers actually because the Lombard and Interstate one wasn't able to get as much restocked.
And that was not because of necessarily exclusively things related to road work, but it was a question of like you could always go to a different part of the city and find what you were looking for, but you could 70% of the time find what you're looking for at Lombard and Interstate.
And St. Johns got it even worse at some times.
So I think this is an important thing to keep in mind.
I asked about the transit side from the perspective of boosting it.
Do we know if buses are gonna be rerouted?
And if so, which ones and how?
Unidentified speaker
Councilor, there will not be any bus rerouting.
Sameer Kanal
Great, good to hear.
I know I'm jumping around a little bit.
This is not— it was written kind of in the slide order.
NEBA, the Northeast Broadway Business Association, is a, I think, a good group to reach out to for what we were just talking about.
But also, your slide 27 had all the folks that you have talked to, and slide 28 had folks that are going to be talked to.
I would love to see some of the local business districts added to the list.
So NEBA, Soul District, Mississippi, Overlook Village, and, and in particular Lloyd, I think, is kind of the most adjacent to the area we're talking about here.
Um, as, as groups to reach out to, I'm happy to help connect as well.
Unidentified speaker
Um, yeah, and Councilor, um, this is a, I would say, a summarized list.
We have a much more extensive list that breaks down some of these kind of categories into, into further business associations, and those that you mentioned are on that list.
Sameer Kanal
Okay, um, I would love to advocate here and maybe another place as well, uh, for, um, the work, you know, is the work also going to be done at night?
And, um, as a lot of what we're talking about here, because of a 5-week closure, I imagine there's already a plan for some of it.
But I think there was a conversation about prioritizing intermittent, sometimes day, sometimes night, a mix.
And I think putting more of it on the night side makes sense in this area just because we're not— when you get up to the further north areas, then you've got residential, but there's a lot less here.
And so I'm trying to avoid affecting folks because I appreciate— I had in my notes to talk about Harry and air quality, but there's also noise pollution, and I wanted to talk about that as well.
So, you know, folks going to events in that area and having the impact.
So, yes.
Unidentified speaker
So, Councilor, for the I-5 closure, both the 14-hour closure and the 5-week closure, work will be going 24/7.
We will have crews out there every hour of the day doing the work to get it done as quickly as possible.
For other work that we've been doing, we have had several intermittent nightly closures We were— we've shifted traffic a couple different times doing work in the median and now over on the bridge barrier.
And a lot of that is happening at night.
Yeah.
Sameer Kanal
I have seen with my own eyes.
Councilor Green asked a question about the lid and the sort of timing there.
There was a lot in that response, but what I took away is that right now we have funding for the bridge barrier.
Expansion of the freeway for the— but not for the lid.
Is that accurate?
Am I— that was my interpretation of what I was hearing.
Unidentified speaker
Yes, plus.
So, Councilor, we have funding for Phase 1A and 1B.
So that is work primarily— there's the stormwater work at the north end, but primarily that's the bridge work at the south end of the project.
It does get a portion of the freeway expansion and auxiliary lanes.
It really only gets us that one auxiliary lane from I-84 down to the Morrison Bridge exit.
It doesn't get any of the northbound auxiliary lanes or the auxiliary lanes for the rest of the southbound from I-84 down to— or from, sorry, I-405 down to Moda Center.
So it gets a small portion of the auxiliary lane and the freeway work.
And then as we move forward and continue to build you know, get funding.
I'm hopeful that we get funding for the remainder of the project.
And once we hit the highway cover, the highway work and the highway cover work go in tandem.
So we will build a portion of the auxiliary lanes underneath the portion of the highway cover that we are working, and we'll continue to do that work as we move north.
Sameer Kanal
Okay, that makes sense.
And another thing to just kind of put in the record, because I believe what you're saying I think the most important thing here is for maybe the legislature and ODOT leadership more than the region folks, if we expand the freeway and we don't end up building the lid, there's going to be people with pitchforks.
And I might well be one of them as well.
So I wanted to get that out there because that's the primary concern.
I think there's a lot of folks who are very against expanding the freeway but understand that it may be necessary in order to get AVT done.
And so the linkage of that is really vital.
Unidentified speaker
I'm sorry, I'm just gonna remind you, we only have about maximum 10 minutes, and I know Councilor Green has some more questions too.
Sameer Kanal
Sorry, I got 2 more, and one's very quick.
In response to earlier Councilor Green question, Director Williams, you said you had a map of what the diversions would be.
Can you share that?
'Cause I think that's something that all of us should have, but obviously D2.
Millicent Williams
We'd be happy to share that, yeah.
Sameer Kanal
And then, Has there been any conversation about the mayor relaxing his guidance on return to office during this period of time for North Portlanders?
Millicent Williams
It's my understanding that the city administrator, mayor, and Deputy City Administrator Warren are talking about what options might be available for us to consider during this time.
Sameer Kanal
That sounds great, and I really appreciate it.
And I'll follow up with you about the other thing, which is MLK-specific street closures.
Absolutely.
Unidentified speaker
Thank you, Councilor Kanal.
Councilor Green.
Mitch Green
Uh, I just got back in the queue because, Councilor Clark, you raised something I thought was interesting.
Is in our districts on Vermont, we oftentimes have this little event where we councilors will stand out there.
You and me and Eric have been there before.
Yeah, we, we could do those sorts of things and scale this to the other districts and maybe I guess you'd have to properly publicly notice this.
We wouldn't talk about any policy, but we can imagine having the committee out at one of these things waving sort of slow down signs.
I think that could be—.
Millicent Williams
We're happy to give you a permit to do that.
Mitch Green
Yeah, we want to stay above board.
Millicent Williams
That was in jest, but yes.
Mitch Green
Thanks.
I don't want to get on the wrong side of history here.
Unidentified speaker
No.
Great.
Well, I think that's really a part of keeping Portland innovative and interesting.
I mean, you know, we were in the New York Times thank you.
We've done some really interesting things at times with our frog suits, so why can't we do something equally interesting on a major shutdown project like this?
There's nothing says that we can't do it.
It's just our own creativity.
So I don't think there are any more questions.
I just really want to thank you.
This has been an excellent presentation.
Thank you for taking all our questions.
I know we probably have more as we go along, and we may want to do a check-in.
And I realize that July is kind of a, an experiment, you know, a, a one-day trial before we get to September.
So we'll see how that goes.
But thank you all very much.
It was very impressive.
I really appreciate it.
And with that, colleagues, our next meeting is Tuesday, June the 23rd.
We're finally going to get an update on asset management and where that plan is, and we We may have other things coming, some potential items from our colleagues and from executive items from PBOT potentially.
So, and that will be hopefully a 3-hour meeting.
So this is an abbreviated meeting.
But thank you all so much, and I will adjourn the meeting of the Public Works Committee.
Millicent Williams
Thank you.