Centering Equity Within the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program

Abstract: As part of our commitment to provide ongoing and inclusive engagement opportunities to gather feedback, the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program has had over 100,000 touch points with community members over the past four years. The community has shared they want a replacement bridge, and they also shared their priorities relating to equity and climate. We are listening to the community and acting on these concerns by centering equity and climate in our work to build a modern replacement bridge. Our Equity Advisory Group developed an Equity Framework to center equity throughout every element of the program and in all critical decisions, actions, and outcomes.

The IBR Program is a joint effort between Oregon and Washington to replace the aging Interstate Bridge across the Columbia River and related interchange improvements within the five-mile corridor. The Program’s goal is to ensure a modern, multimodal corridor that strengthens earthquake resiliency, improves safety and keeps people and our economy moving.

We are using previous planning work to maximize investments and support efficient decision-making. We have re-engaged partner agencies, community partners and the public to identify physical and contextual changes that have occurred within the program area since the previous planning effort. The Program’s endorsed Modified Locally Preferred Alternative identifies the foundational elements to be analyzed through a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). The Program released its Draft SEIS and held a 60-day public comment period from September 20, 2024 – November 18, 2024. Work continues to prepare the Final SEIS and receive an amended Record of Decision by mid to late 2025 in order to reach construction.

Partnerships with Oregon and Washington community-based organizations (CBOs) help the Program reach equity priority community members who have historically been excluded from the public input process on large infrastructure projects. These CBOs have deep connections to local communities and strong existing relationships that allow the Program to gather meaningful and targeted feedback. In August 2021, a small-scale, low-barrier grant program was announced and applications solicited from CBOs in the region. Since 2021, the Program has held two rounds of grant applications and awarded grants to 17 CBOs to assist with outreach and engagement activities.

The Program uses a number of tools to anticipate the needs of equity priority community members so they can fully participate in meaningful engagement and make informed decisions. Some examples of how we have minimized barriers to engagement to reach equity priority communities include working with multilingual community engagement liaisons to help connect and inform those with Limited English Proficiency, immigrants and refugees about Program work and activities, providing American Sign Language interpreters and closed-captioning in English and Spanish at advisory group meetings, listening sessions and upon request, and an accessible and translatable website.

This presentation will demonstrate how the program is centering equity and engaging the community by elevating voices of equity priority communities to understand and address the impacts of injustices disproportionately experienced by these communities.