of the Broadway Bridge later this month
— even for bike traffic.
(Photo © J. Maus)
When we last chimed in about a two month closure to the Broadway Bridge slated to begin on July 6th, the plan from PBOT and Portland Streetcar Inc. was to maintain biking and walking access on the south sidewalk throughout the entire length of the construction project.
Now, that plan has changed.
PBOT spokesperson Dan Anderson has confirmed that the bridge will be completely closed to biking and walking traffic for a yet-to-be determined length of time.
Earlier today, an update was published to the PortlandStreetcar.org website stating that the biking/walking traffic closure would be from July 19th to September 3rd. When I contacted Portland Streetcar for more details, they said communication plans hadn’t been solidified and a few minutes later the update had been removed (turns out someone published it prematurely).
According to Kay Dannen, Principal at Shiels Obletz Johnsen, Inc., (the company doing the streetcar work), “a late breaking issue” has led to the contractor needing to close both sidewalks during the closure. Dannen adds that, “We will plan to keep the south sidewalk open as long as possible.”
PBOT’s Anderson says just how long bikers and walkers will retain access to the south sidewalk remains unknown. PBOT plans to release a precise date sometime next week. The detour route will be the Steel Bridge to the south (sorry, there are no plans for a Fremont Bridge bike detour).
Portlanders last endured a full closure of the Broadway Bridge back in 2004. That closure lasted 60 days (from July 6th to September 6th) while crews worked on the lift span as part of a $28 million renovation project.
Stay tuned for more details and keep an eye on the project’s construction updates page for more information.