Public Project Status Tracker: Week of Oct 5, 2026
I-5 bridge builder qualifications were due Sept. 30 as $1.4B funding gap persists
Qualification bids for the I-5 Columbia River Bridge closed Sept. 30 while a funding gap is still disputed, CalHSR faces an oversight fight ahead of an Oct. 9 board meeting, and Gateway's Hudson tunnel boring began. No new change orders or cost revisions were found in primary records for any project this week.
The 30-second version
I-5 Columbia River Bridge: WSDOT's bridge-builder qualifications deadline was Sept. 30; Center Square reports a $1.4B gap in the first phase.
California High-Speed Rail Authority: board takes up spending concerns Oct. 9; Newsom vetoed the inspector general's oversight bill; change-order review delayed.
Hudson Tunnel: Gateway Development Commission marked start of tunnel boring Sept. 28; first machine to launch within days.
01I-5 Columbia River Bridge · Sep 30
I-5 bridge builder bids closed Sept. 30; funding gap disputed
Status: in procurement. WSDOT is running a progressive design-build procurement for the Columbia River Bridge Replacement, the first construction phase of the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program. Statements of qualifications were due Sept. 30, per the program's Aug. 17 release. I did not find a public count of submitters.
Money and schedule: WSDOT's June 2026 factsheet (official) gives an anticipated contract amount of $3.3–$3.9 billion and says the RFP was planned for October 2026; the later Aug. 17 program release says the RFP will be issued in November, so treat November as current. Construction start is listed as August 2028 in the factsheet and 'expected 2028' in the release; The Center Square reports July 2028. Per the program, $5.7 billion is available for the first funded phase. The Center Square (Sept. 21) reports a $1.4 billion gap and a cost estimate of up to $15 billion, against a $6 billion estimate in 2022 (press figures; not verified against a program cost document). It quotes state Rep. John Ley, who sits on the bi-state legislative committee, pressing for a reset at the Sept. 17 meeting. Interim Project Administrator Carly Francis said the funded phase will be a drivable bridge. No change orders apply yet; no contract is awarded.
Watch next: the RFP release, now stated as November, and the shortlist of firms that qualified; confirm against the WSDOT contracting page.
California high-speed rail faces spending scrutiny; change-order audit delayed
Status: under construction on the Central Valley segment (Mainline Report describes it as 171 miles, Merced to Bakersfield). The authority has put spending concerns on its Oct. 9 board agenda, per a Mainline Report article relaying an ABC10 report; the notice gave no figures or contract details.
Oversight: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 1608 (veto message dated Wednesday, Sept. 30 per CalMatters), which would have let the Office of Inspector General hire more skilled audit staff. Two weeks earlier the inspector general's report found nearly $600,000 in unallowable consultant travel expenses approved by the authority (CalMatters). Inspector General Ben Belnap said a review of how the authority approves change orders was planned for spring but tabled until fall for lack of staff; three of eight audit positions were vacant. Contract data: the authority's September finance report (data through July 31) lists design-build contracts for CP1 (Tutor Perini/Zachry/Parsons JV) and CP2-3 (Dragados/Flatiron JV); I did not extract change-order totals or a baseline cost for this edition. Open solicitation: the Merced-to-Madera collaborative design-build RFQ, approved for release at the June 24 board meeting; I did not confirm its current deadline.
Watch next: the Oct. 9 board meeting and its posted materials for cost figures and change-order detail; check the Merced–Madera RFQ status on the authority's procurement page.
Hudson Tunnel boring begins under Palisades; first machine launches within days
Status: under construction; all packages needed to bore the tunnel are active. At a Sept. 28 event the Gateway Development Commission (GDC) said tunnel boring is starting, with the first machine launching in coming days and a second soon after (GDC release, official). Schiavone Lane Dragados JV is boring about one mile under the Palisades to the Hudson County Access Shaft, under the Palisades Tunnel package, which the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey manages with GDC. GDC expects about 30 feet per day and arrival at the shaft about a year after launch (projections).
Money: Construction Dive (Sept. 29) calls it a $16 billion project (press figure; I did not verify a baseline or any revision) and notes GDC's April 2026 award of a $1.29 billion Manhattan Tunnel contract to a Traylor Bros./Walsh/Skanska JV. I found no change orders, cost revisions or open solicitations this week in the sources I could open; NJ Transit and Amtrak records were not checked in depth. Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the state has taken the administration to court five times and won each time (her claim).
Watch next: confirmation that the first machine has started boring, and any GDC board action on the Hudson River section machines or contract changes.