ODOT selects construction contractor for I-205 Improvements Project

Improvements planned for the project’s first phase.

Please find May’s newsletter below:

ODOT has issued a Notice of Intent to Award to Kiewit Infrastructure West, which means the contracting process is underway with Kiewit to build the first phase of the I-205 Improvements Project. This is a major milestone in our effort to provide safer and more reliable travel along this important corridor. Kiewit is involved in transportation infrastructure projects nationwide and built Portland’s Tilikum Crossing. Pending the contract award, Abernethy Bridge work will begin this summer and last through 2025.

The project’s first phase includes upgrading the Abernethy Bridge to withstand a major earthquake and widening it to accommodate three travel lanes in each direction, improving the interchanges at OR 43 and OR 99E to make travel safer, and installing a sound wall near exit 9 on southbound I-205.

The improvements in the first phase have been approved by the Oregon Transportation Commission and have been funded through the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. When completed, these improvements will “help make everyday travel safer and healthier for Oregonians, while also supporting a vibrant state economy,” said Brendan Finn, Director of ODOT’s Urban Mobility Office. Additional work along the I-205 corridor is planned and schedules are under development.

Additionally, this is the first ODOT project to participate in a pilot workforce development program under the Federal Highway Administration. This pilot will prioritize hiring from economically distressed zip codes in Multnomah, Marion, Clackamas and Washington counties.

Those traveling along this corridor are encouraged to sign up for email and text message updates to learn about upcoming open houses, the formal groundbreaking, along with information on detours and directional closures that will be required starting in 2024. For more information about the I-205 Improvements Project, please see the project’s website.