County gears up to do bridge work

Burnside is set for a face-lift, while Sauvie Island gets new span

By Jim Redden

The Portland Tribune, Dec 13, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

When it comes to bridges, size does matter.

Multnomah County owns and operates most of the bridges that span the Willamette River. But while the two-lane Sellwood and Sauvie Island bridges are nearing the ends of their useful lives, the larger bridges Ñ such as the five-lane Burnside Bridge Ñ can be maintained into the distant future, according to county spokesman Mike Pullen.

“Even though the Burnside Bridge was originally designed for trolley cars, it is strong enough to carry today’s heavy trucks and buses,” Pullen said.

Unfortunately, even durability must be maintained, as many downtown workers are about to find out. Beginning in January, traffic on the heavily traveled Burnside Bridge will be severely restricted to allow for extensive repairs to the 79-year-old structure. The bridge will be reduced from five to two lanes Ñ one in each direction Ñ for nearly two years.

The squeeze is necessary to allow the county to repair the drawbridge mechanism and resurface the lift spans, a project budgeted at $9 million. Work is scheduled to be completed in late 2007.

“There’s no doubt it will be inconvenient,” Pullen said. “The Burnside Bridge carries 45,000 cars a day. But once the repairs are done, it should be good for many, many years.”

Work begins on Sauvie span

In contrast, the current Sauvie Island Bridge will be left alone while its replacement is built over the next three years.

Work on the replacement project began Monday, when a parking lot on the island at the east end of the bridge was closed to the public. It will become a staging area for the heavy equipment that will construct the $38 million bridge, after which the original span will be taken down.

A public meeting to discuss the project will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, at Sauvie Island School, 14445 N.W. Charlton Road. It will include an update on the construction schedule and other project news. Presenters will include Multnomah County Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffey, who has made the bridges one of her priorities.

What will happen to the Sellwood Bridge, which a recent report concluded must be replaced within 10 to 15 years? The answer is unclear, in large part because the county has not yet decided whether to build a replacement bridge there or on another site.

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