Portland leaders celebrate $485M federal award for restoring historically Black neighborhood

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Decades after a historically Black neighborhood in Portland was separated by the installation of Interstate 5, national and local leaders are working to rejuvenate the area thanks in part to new federal funding. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s $485 million award will help reverse the damage that was done near the Rose Quarter and the Albina Neighborhood. As part of this effort, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the City of Portland, and Albina Vision Trust are all working together to make it happen. 

According to officials, $450 million of the federal funds is going to ODOT’s Rose Quarter project to put a cap on I-5. The goal is to restore the Albina community that was so deeply impacted 60 years ago by the construction of the freeway.

"I love Black Portland, I probably won't be able to hold myself together,” said Irene Marion with the U.S. Department of Transportation. “ But it feels so good to be home, to be with you all to celebrate this incredible work that Black Portland is leading for this city and this region."

The remaining $39 million is going to the Portland Bureau of Transportation to redesign Northeast Broadway and Weidler streets, an important component of the overall vision for the Rose Quarter improvement project.

While start dates on these projects haven’t been set, the money is expected to be coming into Oregon in the next few months.