ODOT opens bids Nov. 5 on its I-84 westbound Union Pacific Railroad Bridge project in Hood River, priced at over $30 million

The Oregon Department of Transportation will open bids at 9 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2026, for the I-84 (Westbound): Union Pacific Railroad Bridge (Hood River) Project on the Columbia River Highway in Hood River. ODOT's notice gives a cost range of "over $30,000,000" and sets completion for Oct. 19, 2029. The notice was first posted Sept. 24 as a six-week advertisement.

ODOT notes that its cost ranges are preliminary, may not reflect the current scope and are not the engineer's estimate. The project is federally funded, under federal aid number S002(245), so Buy America requirements apply.

The structure

The bridge items in the notice show the scale of the job:

• 2,448,378 pounds of steel plate girders and 35 bearing devices;
• 1,022,889 pounds of reinforcing steel;
• 758 feet of drilled shaft excavation, 1,145 cubic yards of drilled shaft concrete and 12 CSL tests;
• 1,743 cubic yards of structural concrete, 1,676 feet of concrete rail and 187 feet of strip seal;
• 391 square yards of reinforced concrete bridge approach slab and 9,850 square feet of mechanically stabilized earth retaining wall;
• 1,750 cubic yards of structure excavation, with shoring, cribbing and cofferdams, a temporary work bridge and a temporary retaining wall.

Earthwork, environmental and paving

The project also includes 27,500 cubic yards of general excavation, 3,335 cubic yards of stone embankment and 6 acres of clearing and grubbing. A soil-cement column program comes with a preconstruction mix design test and demonstration. Environmental items include disposal of 1,068 tons of contaminated soil, removal of 3,000 square feet of asbestos with sampling, pH monitoring wells, an active treatment system and turbidity monitoring.

Paving and roadside work includes 7,494 tons of asphalt concrete, 6,600 tons of aggregate base, 2,364 feet of guardrail, a mile of rumble strips, a water quality swale, 8 acres of seeding and 4,255 plants.

Working next to the railroad

The project requires railroad insurance. The notice lists 630 units of railroad flagging ("630 ea RR flag") and pipe to be installed under the railroad. Traffic control includes 6,850 feet of temporary barrier, seven temporary impact attenuators, 1,261 reflective barrier panels, 15 days of mobile barrier and 330 hours of tow truck service.

Requirements

The class of work is Bridges and Structures, and bidders must be prequalified in it; applications were due 10 calendar days before bid closing, which for this job was Oct. 26. The notice says the project "requires an asbestos abatement license as required by ORS 468A.720," contains asphalt and fuel escalation clauses, and carries an 8% Indian employment preference goal. Like all ODOT projects, it has a steel escalation clause and minimum wage rate requirements, and the contractor's own organization must perform at least 30% of the contract amount.

Who will want it

This is the larger of the two jobs on ODOT's current notices. It favors bridge primes with steel girder erection, drilled shaft and railroad experience. Subcontracting opportunities include rebar, drilled shafts, asbestos abatement, contaminated soil handling, erosion control, traffic control, surveying, paving, landscaping and fencing. Hood River County is in ODOT Region 1, based in Portland, and has 299 CCB-licensed contractors in this site's directory; see the Hood River County hub.

After bid day

ODOT publishes preliminary bid results on its website and on Bid Express by close of business on bid day. Award is not final until three working days after ODOT posts a notice of intent to award, or until ODOT answers any timely protest, whichever is later. Project-specific technical questions go by email to the project manager named in the notice, Kathryn Hoffburg.

Bids go through Bid Express or on paper to ODOT Procurement in Salem. See our ODOT bidding guide.