New vehicle fees would raise over one-third the total cost to replace the Sellwood Bridge.(Photo © J. Maus)

Funding to replace the Selwood Bridge is coming together. As per HB 2001 -- the transportation funding package that passed the Oregon legislature this past session -- Multnomah County is considering a new, $19 motorized vehicle registration [...]

Here's the latest on the Sellwood Bridge Project...

Policy leaders recommend Sellwood Bridge plan
After two and a half years of study, a committee of elected and agency leaders has recommended a locally preferred alternative for the Sellwood Bridge Project. The alternative, which was unanimously approved on February 6, includes these elements:

Share

The latest Sellwood Bridge project news (browse our previous coverage):
Policy leaders to choose Sellwood Bridge plan
The Policy Advisory Group for the Sellwood Bridge Project will meet on Friday, February 6 at 3:00 pm in the boardroom of the Multnomah Building at 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd. to choose a locally preferred alternative. The decision is [...]

Many kids and families turned out.(Photo: Matthew Arnold)

Share

Sellwood residents are gearing up for a march on the Sellwood Bridge this Saturday. According to one of the event's organizers, Bradley Heintz, the goal of the march is to send a message that any bridge that is built adheres to existing planning guidelines as community livability concerns.
Share

The Community Task Force for the Sellwood Bridge project is set to meet on Monday (1/5) and the agenda will include a discussion and "possible recommendation" of a locally preferred alternative.
Here's more from a press release sent out today by Multnomah County (they own and manage the bridge):
The task force will also hear presentations on [...]

An important open house and public hearing event for the Sellwood Bridge project is happening Wednesday night from 6 - 8:30 at OMSI (1945 SE Water Ave.)
The press release from Multnomah County is below:
Share

Let's help the county pick a better bridge.(Photo © J. Maus)

Multnomah County has released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Sellwood Bridge Project. Included in the DEIS are details of the five bridge design configurations that are being considered.
Now, the County needs your feedback to help them decide what type [...]

I'll have a full story about this on the Front Page on Monday, but this is a very important step in the process so I wanted to share the announcement below with you ASAP.

Public comment period begins for Sellwood Bridge alternatives study
Multnomah County is accepting public comments on a study of five build [...]

The Policy Advisory Group of the Sellwood Bridge Project has made their final decisions as to which bridge designs will move forward for further study and consideration.
Below is the official press release from Multnomah County. You can also see engineering renditions of the designs on this post from a few weeks ago and for [...]

See below.

In case you haven't been paying attention, the Sellwood Bridge Project is slowly but surely reaching some important decision points.
Since bicycle and pedestrian issues will play a major factor in the design of this bridge, we should all be paying attention.
Share

Press Release from Multnomah County:
New bridge design is focus of Sellwood Bridge online survey
If you have an opinion about what a new Sellwood Bridge should look like, Multnomah County wants to hear from you. An online survey offered through November 28 at www.sellwoodbridge.org lets the public recommend two preferred designs for a new [...]

Multnomah County Commissioner Maria Rojo de Steffy at last night's meeting.(All photos © Jonathan Maus)

An influential advisory group made up of elected and appointed officials has narrowed the options for the design of the future Sellwood Bridge.
At a meeting last night, the Policy Advisory Group of the Sellwood Bridge Project decided on four alternatives [...]

(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

Next week, the Policy Advisory Group for the Sellwood Bridge Project will meet to choose up to four bridge designs to consider for further study.
The four designs will then go through an environmental review and a "preferred alternative" will be chosen by Spring 2008.
Share

(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

Multnomah County has just released their third Sellwood Bridge survey (for background on the project, see this post).
Here's the word from their Public Affairs office:
"An online survey offered through September 9 (at SellwoodBridge.org) lets the public choose up to two preferred alternatives for replacing or rehabilitating the 81-year-old structure. Survey results will [...]

Sellwood Bridge Project Citizen's Task Force member Richard Marantz on the Sellwood Bridge.(All photos: Jonathan Maus)

Share

The narrow sidewalk.(Photo: Cindie Olson)

Perhaps influenced by recent events in Minnesota, there's a post in the Portland Bike Forums that proposes a new solution to the ailing Sellwood Bridge.
Forum member (and regular commenter) Attornatus_Oregonensis (a.k.a. A_O) is a Sellwood resident and he thinks the aging and deteriorating bridge should be decommissioned and kept open only [...]

Sellwood Bridge(File photo)

Everyone is talking about the collapsed bridge in Minnesota. When I heard the news, my first thought was of the aging and deteriorating condition of the Sellwood Bridge. Apparently I wasn't the only one.
The Multnomah County public affairs office has just announced a news conference at 2:00 pm today in Sellwood [...]

We all know the failing, old, Sellwood Bridge is a major broken link in our transportation network. Or, as the BTA puts it:
"The Sellwood Bridge has extremely dangerous and inadequate bicycle and pedestrian facilities (a single 4-foot sidewalk on one side only)....the BTA has determined that the Sellwood Bridge is the major barrier to [...]

[Graphic from cover of winning proposal to renovate the Sellwood Bridge.]

An employee for the civil engineering firm that won the bid to renovate the Sellwood Bridge* is working on the Sellwood Bridge project has forwarded me a graphic from the cover of their winning proposal that shows a generous 14 foot wide path for bikes [...]