Interstate 5 southbound in Portland's Rose Quarter will reopen Thursday afternoon after structural repairs finished a week earlier than planned, the Oregon Department of Transportation said.
The work began September 11 and was completed well ahead of the originally scheduled five-week window. Crews began the reopening process at around 10 p.m. Wednesday, with the bulk of the work taking up to 24 hours. The interstate is expected to be fully reopened to traffic midday Thursday.
According to ODOT, the project involved concrete overlay replacement along 2,000 linear feet, installation of nearly 3,000 linear feet of rebar, replacement of 27 bridge joints, upgrades to barriers and railings to meet current safety standards, and creation of space to extend a merging lane.
Some lanes and entrance ramps will remain closed temporarily as crews remove traffic control equipment and re-stripe the interstate. Short-term closures will affect the Broadway exit lane, North Going Street on-ramp, North Alberta Street on-ramp, the I-405 southbound split, and lanes of the exit ramp from I-84 westbound to I-5 southbound as work continues throughout the night.
The accelerated completion was attributed to effective planning, dry weather conditions, and continuous work by the construction team from Hamilton Sundt Joint Venture. David Kim, ODOT's Statewide Project Delivery Manager, said construction crews "worked around the clock for the past four weeks to complete the work ahead of schedule."
Single lane overnight closures and occasional local street closures will continue through next spring as crews complete seismic resiliency upgrades and finish replacing rails and barriers. Planning will begin soon for a similar closure of I-5 northbound through the Rose Quarter expected in summer 2027.