What's Happening in Portland, OR…

Two designs have been proposed for Portland’s new Burnside Bridge and county residents have the opportunity to offer their opinion.

The design choices are a “tied arch” or “cable stay” and the public’s preference will figure into the design commission’s recommendation. For reference, the cable stay design would be similar to the Tilikum Crossing while the tied arch design would resemble the Fremont Bridge. The final decision will be made by the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners.

Construction of the new bridge, which will be earthquake proof, is expected to cost $895 million. The quality and age of a community’s infrastructure are among the features chambers of commerce send to brochure printing services for inclusion in promotional materials.

Expectations are that the present Burnside Bridge will be closed for five years to allow construction, starting in early 2027, although the preliminary construction could start as early as sometime in 2026. The opening of the new bridge is anticipated to be toward the end of 2031.

Regardless of the design chosen, the new bridge will sport two lanes for cars in each direction as well as an eastbound lane reserved for buses, plus, two 17-foot-wide bike and pedestrian lanes, one each direction.

A patchwork of funding will supply the money to build the bridge with $300 million coming from vehicle registration fees from the county, $20 million from the state, with the rest coming from government funding such as grants and funds from the 2021 federal infrastructure bill.