5月31日peer review of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Environmental Assessmentfor the proposed expansion of Interstate 5 in Portland’s Rose Quarter district found the document to be technically sound, but lacking in public communication quality.

目前，该项目的预计将在7.15亿至7.95亿美元之间，通过增加俄勒冈州最大的城市，通过增加辅助车道和肩膀来解决臭名昭著的I-5的1.8英里。该计划还包括重新设计的“盖子”在高速公路的各个部分上，以提供公共场所的空间，并改进相邻的街道，这些街道将重新连接在1950年代最初建造的高速公路时分开的社区。

The EA, published by ODOT in February 2019, estimated that the project would slightly reduce greenhouse gas emission compared with a no-build option, but would pose significant noise and air quality impacts from vehicles using neighborhood streets to avoid construction, and after the planned implementation of tolls on I-5 later in the decade.

The recent peer review panel found that ODOT’s EA adequately addressed the noise, air quality and greenhouse gas issues. Mitigation measures were likewise found to be reasonable and technically correct. The panel offered its own recommendations for the design and construction phases, such as a requirement for contractors to use electric vehicles and low-emission construction equipment, changes to sound wall design and placement and consideration of noise-reducing pavements.

But though the EA’s technical aspects passed muster, the panel said that the study information could have been better presented for a non-technical audience, potentially reducing confusion about findings and recommendations.

EA的最初发现引发了人们对利益相关者和合作伙伴机构（包括波特兰公立学校系统）分析的彻底性的困惑和批评，该系统拥有与I-5相邻的财产。社区团体同样声称，研究的缓解建议在解决长期存在的环境正义问题和邻里经济问题方面新利18备用缺乏。

Compounding the criticism are concerns about the project’s cost, which is nearly double the original estimate issued in 2017, which could rise even higher should ODOT move ahead with a proposal to use the freeway lids for vertical construction.

Reluctant to conduct another environmental study and risk delaying the planned 2023 start of construction, the Oregon Transportation Commission and ODOT in January commissioned Grace Crunican, former General Manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, to select and facilitate a panel of six transportation experts from across the country to conduct an environmental peer review of the document’s technical analyses of air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and noise.

对于每个领域，小组评估了应用的方法，分析的适当性，以及拟议的结论和提出的缓解措施是否充分解决了分析中根据《国家环境政策法》（NEPA）（NEPA）和其他最佳实践所确定的影响的影响。相关法规和要求。该小组还收集了ODOT，利益相关者和其他人如何进行EA进行和提出的意见。

该小组说：“需要立即完成这项工作，以解决所有当事方之间的责任和责任，以重新建立信任。”

该小组指出，沟通问题可能使ODOT损失了与公众及其合作伙伴机构的信任度量，因此，该小组要求进行协同协作的努力，以解决缓解措施和其他问题，包括Rose Quarter Project，这是7英里的一部分到十年末，经过交通拥堵的价格将使用拥堵定价全额收费。如果联邦运输官员同意该计划，那么波特兰的I-5将成为美国第一个不提供非托管通用车道规定的高速公路走廊之一。

Brendan Finn, director of ODOT’s new Office of Urban Mobility and Mega Project Delivery, told reporters on a June 3 video conference that the agency is, “aggressively moving forward on the congestion pricing program on Interstate 5 to control that demand that gets created so we continue to meet and be consistent with our greenhouse gas emission climate goals.”

Finn also expects the tolling system to be operational when the Rose Quarter project is completed in 2027.

ODOT还正在进行环境研究，以开始在大都会波特兰的南侧汇总I-205的一部分。俄勒冈市和西林恩之间的延伸目前在工作日处理超过100,000辆汽车，并经历了超过五个小时的拥塞。这些通行费的收入可以帮助资助这条路线的地震加强，包括威拉米特河过境点。