Portland I-5 Expansion Environmental Study Fell Short, Suit Says

Portland, Ore., community advocacy groups and neighborhood associations allege a billion-dollar interstate expansion plan for the city failed to adequately consider the project’s environmental impact.

The plan finalized by the state’s Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration this year insufficiently analyzed that impact as well as more cost-effective alternatives for the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Freeway Expansion & Improvement Project, the groups told the US District Court for the District of Oregon Friday.

According to the suit, the agencies violated the National Environmental Protection Act when they didn’t produce an environmental impact statement for the project, which could ...