All southbound lanes of Interstate 5 through Portland's Rose Quarter shut down Friday, Sept. 11, for up to five weeks. Beaverton commuters who use the highway should start planning alternate routes before the closure begins.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will close the 1.8-mile stretch between Interstate 405 and Interstate 84 around 10 p.m. Friday.
Ramps will begin closing as early as 9 p.m. The closure runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with ODOT estimating delays of up to three hours and trip times two to three times longer than normal, according to KOIN.
About 120,000 vehicles travel through this section daily, including roughly 11,700 trucks carrying more than $100 million in goods, KATU reported.
ODOT spokesperson Rose Gerber said conditions will shift daily and urged drivers to check navigation apps and leave extra time before heading out, according to The Oregonian.
What's closed, what's open
Several on-ramps are shut during construction: N Alberta St., N Greeley Ave., NE Wheeler Ave. and the I-405 northbound to I-5 southbound connector. The I-5 southbound ramp to I-84 eastbound is also closed.
The Going Street on-ramp stays open. So does I-84 westbound to I-5 southbound and one lane to the Broadway/Weidler exit for local access.
Northbound I-5 remains fully open.
Detour routes
ODOT's official detour sends southbound I-5 traffic onto I-405 over the Fremont Bridge. Drivers who don't need central Portland should use I-205 instead.
ODOT expects heavier traffic on I-405 and U.S. 30 across the St. Johns Bridge, especially between 6:30 and 9 a.m. and 4 and 8:30 p.m.
Extra trouble for Beaverton drivers
The I-5 shutdown overlaps with the closure of Cornelius Pass Road at the Multnomah-Washington County line, which is shut until Tuesday, Sept. 29, for a bridge replacement over Rock Creek.
That road is a key freight route into Washington County.
Oregon Trucking Association CEO Jana Jarvis warned in an Aug. 28 KGW report that the twin closures would hit the region hard. "It's going to mean a lot of congestion and a lot of delay and a lot less reliability," Jarvis said.
Beaverton resident Kat Innes challenged ODOT's framing of the full closure as the cheaper option in a Sunday, Sept. 6, letter to The Oregonian. Innes argued the costs shift to businesses, commuters and freight operators rather than disappearing.
Transit alternatives
TriMet recommends the MAX Yellow Line, which runs parallel to I-5 through North Portland with trains every 15 minutes. TriMet plans to run double cars on key lines during the closure.
For Beaverton-area commuters, the MAX Blue and Red lines connect to downtown Portland.
The Gateway/NE 99th Ave Transit Center Park & Ride has 480 garage spaces plus 210 in a surface lot. The Delta Park/Vanport Park & Ride offers 304 spaces on the Yellow Line.
ODOT recommends checking TripCheck.com and downloading the Get There Oregon app to plan routes and find transit, carpool and vanpool options.
Why the full shutdown
Crews will remove the concrete surface on the elevated roadway south of the Moda Center, repair and reinforce the structure underneath, replace bridge joints and repave.
The concrete was last replaced in 1985. This initial phase costs $75 million and is part of the broader I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, estimated at $1.96 billion to $2.08 billion.
ODOT Project Delivery Manager David Kim told KATU the full closure was the fastest option.
ODOT estimated that keeping the freeway partially open with smaller closures would have added $6 million to $9 million to the project cost.
If work stays on schedule, the freeway could reopen by mid-October.
