Traffic moves southbound on Interstate 5 on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Vancouver, Wash.
Jenny Kane for OPB / OPB
From Vancouver, Washington, you’d never know that a massive highway project, ominously dubbed “carmageddon,” was underway seven miles away in downtown Portland on Monday morning.
Transportation officials have warned that gridlock from the closure of all southbound I-5 lanes in Portland’s Rose Quarter Improvement Project could back up traffic into Washington.
But during the first rush hour of the construction project, the eight big-screen TVs at the Washington State Department of Transportation Traffic Management Center showed cars speeding across the Interstate Bridge at their usual clip. Traffic was slightly heavier on the I-205 bridge a few miles to the east.
For weeks, there had been warnings that commute times could take two to three times longer than usual. But the first day’s breezy commute across the Columbia River could cause a false sense of security in the coming days, said Rob Brusseau, an operations manager at the department’s offices in Vancouver.
With livestream views of traffic displayed in the background, Rob Brusseau works at the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Traffic Management Center on Monday.
Jenny Kane for OPB / OPB
“I’m worried that people will watch the news today, and say ‘Oh, it wasn’t really that bad,’ and they’re not going to modify their behaviors,” he said, standing in front of the wall of traffic camera feeds.
Mondays aren’t a reliable indicator of what’s to come, said Tyler Branch, a WSDOT operations engineer. “Usually, Tuesdays are when folks come back out and hit the roadways a little bit more.”
The Rose Quarter Improvement Project has closed southbound lanes of I-5 between I-405 and I-84. Construction will run 24 hours per day, seven days a week. The project is expected to last for five weeks.
In the end, a two-mile section of road will be repaired, including resurfacing concrete that dates back to 1985 and making the highway earthquake-safe.
A person walks on a freeway overpass on Monday in Vancouver.
Jenny Kane for OPB / OPB
The project in Oregon poses a unique challenge for WSDOT, which doesn’t have much control over construction in a separate state, even though Washington commuters could be seriously impacted if congestion backs up.
WSDOT is using metering to control how quickly cars enter I-5, while the City of Vancouver is warning drivers that backups could occur near the following highway on-ramps:
- I-5 On-Ramps: SR-500, 39th St, Fourth Plain, Mill Plain, and Washington/6th St.
- I-205 On-Ramps: SR-14, Mill Plain, 18th St, and SR-500.
To help commuters avoid driving, Clark County’s transit agency, C-TRAN, has altered or suspended some bus routes into downtown Portland and added extra buses from Vancouver to the terminus of the MAX light rail Yellow Line at the Expo Center.
State traffic managers have been focused on educating the public as the construction project gets underway. Oregon officials have been doing a good job of scaring people, “in the best way possible,” said Celeste Dimichina, a spokesperson for WSDOT.
Traffic moves along I-5 next to downtown Vancouver on Monday.
Jenny Kane for OPB / OPB
“You let people know with enough time that they can plan how they’re going to get to work or appointments, and they plan accordingly because they don’t want to be stuck in traffic. Nobody does,” she said.