The bi-state effort to build a new bridge spanning the Columbia River reached a deal to pay four companies a combined $140 million, the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program announced Tuesday.

The agreement is part of the process to compensate businesses that could be affected by a new 116-foot, fixed-span bridge since the bridge height would impact marine vessel traffic traveling on the river.

Finalizing the agreement will allow the transportation agencies of Oregon and Washington to submit a Navigation Impact Report to the U.S. Coast Guard, one of the last remaining pieces needed to settle on a bridge design.

“These agreements are really intended to focus on businesses that use the river and are trying to ensure that those jobs stay here locally, that they’re still able to be viable, and that we’re really ensuring that with the fixed bridge, they can stay in business,” said Frank Green, assistant program administrator for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program.

The four Columbia River companies -- JT Marine, Advanced American, Thompson Metal Fab, and Greenberry Industrial -- are shipyards, industrial fabricators and marine contractors. The details of those agreements are protected by non-disclosure agreements, according to Green.

Building a replacement bridge that does not affect marine traffic on the Columbia River would mean including a bridge with a movable span, like the one on the existing Interstate Bridge.

A newly built, movable span bridge would continue the current traffic delays when vessels travel under the bridge and cost at least $500 million more than a fixed-span bridge, even before current inflationary impacts, Green said.

“If we didn’t do this, we would need to spend far more money on a bridge that I don’t think there’s a lot of support for,” Green said.

The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program is facing ongoing headwinds. The megaproject is currently estimated to cost between $5 billion and $7.5 billion, but is facing pressure over anticipated cost increases due to delays and inflation that will be announced next month.

Last month, Interstate Bridge Replacement Program Administrator Greg Johnson announced he will step down at the end of 2025 after five years of overseeing the project.

The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program is counting on an additional $1 billion in funding from the federal government in the form of a Capital Investment Grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

According to recent emails from Clark County’s transit agency, C-TRAN, the federal agency recently declined to give the IBR a required rating for its grant application.

C-TRAN officials said it was declined because of the unconfirmed bridge height and because anticipated cost increases had not been released.

Green said this was an initial request for a rating from the federal government, and the IBR had been planning to submit another application in 2026.

Leadership from the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program will meet with officials from the Oregon Legislature to discuss the status of the megaproject and give a financial update on Tuesday night.

Tuesday’s announcement notes that payouts will only take place “if the Coast Guard permits a fixed-span bridge and construction begins.”

The effort to replace the Interstate Bridge dates back decades.

The structure is actually two bridges, with the oldest piece dating to 1917. A previous attempt to replace the bridge, known as the Columbia River Crossing project, ultimately died in 2014.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/18/interstate-bridge-replacement-announces-payout-to-columbia-river-user/