approach SE Grand Ave.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Several readers have emailed with questions about the cement barricades and other barriers on the eastbound Hawthorne Bridge viaduct as it approaches Grand Ave. Some of you thought it might be a pilot project for a new separated bikeway. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. But to find out more, I asked Multnomah County spokesperson Mike Pullen.
Here’s what the barricades are all about…
On September 30th, a semi-truck carrying heavy equipment struck a girder of the viaduct while traveling on SE Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd. Pullen says the truck was simply too tall and the collision did extensive damage to the underside of the bridge structure. Due to concerns about the structural integrity of the viaduct in the area above the damaged girder, the County does not want heavy vehicles traveling over it. People walking and biking over it are fine. Pullen says “it will take months” for County engineers to repair the weakened girder.
Now you know!
Thanks for reading.
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Enjoy this great bike amenity while it lasts! I love when our construction and repair projects show us the great potential we can achieve with a permanent improvement.
I’m writing county officials now to thank them for the temporary awesomeness.
so why does there need to be that one angled barrier piece inside the others that encroaches on the bike lane?
Burr:
I think that’s to discourage any automobiles from taking that route. And you know some would if they could.
Is there a plan to move the right/southern most jersey barrier out of the bicycle lane? right now it creates an un-needed narrowing by partially blocking the bike lane.
I thought is was there to force cyclists to stay in the bike lane and not use the adjacent lane.
at any rate, it encroaches on the bike lane and creates a pinch point there.
Yeah, I work out near the airport and I’ve seen cars and motorcycles use the bike lanes on Airport Way as their lane when traffic is backed up, if they need to make a turn and some is stopped at the light ahead of them, etc etc.
I haven’t commuted over the Hawthorne Bridge for a few years now, but did for about five years. This location (and a bit earlier on the viaduct, west) was my favorite spot to move over to the left lane to set up a left turn later onto 7th or 11th. Merging after Grand is much more sketchy. It looks like this cuts off that option to riders and could result in more awkward merging and box-left turns.
Weekend girder.
“It looks like this cuts off that option to riders and could result in more awkward merging and box-left turns.”
Its not been a problem for me.
Illegally taking the lane on Hawthorne from Grand to the left turn on 11th is my favorite little rebellion. The shocked expression on drivers faces when I pass them on the left is priceless.
Any word on whether it’s the taxpayers or truck company footing the bill??
Think how much money PBOT could save on repaving if they blocked off entire auto lane for a full mile?
We get bike safety and we also get the tax savings of not having to resurface as much road.
re comment 9, how far back before 12th do you suppose it is “legal” to leave the bike lane to get into the left lane? you wait until much past 7th, you will not be able to make the merge.
Re #7 and #9: While the barricades have made my merge to the left lane feel a little more “rushed” (they are where I used to start my merge), they haven’t prevented me from taking the left lane before grand. In some ways it is easier now since the right most lane can get backed up with people in cars trying to take the turn off for MLK, So I can just scoot past that, take the now open right (used to be middle) lane, and then just merge one more lane. Sometimes, people in cars seem to want to “race” to get in front of me, but with the slight downhill slope and the lights, I haven’t had a problem establishing my place in a lane of traffic. I feel much safer in a traffic lane and not going right through the bus zone and right turning vehicles.
I was not aware it was illegal to merge to the left most lane to make my left turn. Is it? I do agree with spare_wheel, that passing car divers on this part of my commute gives me a happy feeling.
oh, and thank you for clearing up why the barricade is in place. I was wondering myself. My husband is convinced that it was “to keep those bicyclists in THEIR lane”
um…. *sometimes* we argue about where bicyclist should be on the road. 😉
@are, i was being somewhat snarky. the mandatory sidepath law is an unenforced joke.
I was walkingeastbound on hawthorne when this happened just before the exit ramp. I thought we were having an earthquake. If you look at the south side of the overpass you can see that the I Beam is bent out at least 30 degrees. I’m sure it will be an expensive fix that won’t happen soon.
Thanks for clearing this up Jonathan. I was wondering about this on the way home from Gordon’s talk (nice to see you btw).
It never ceases to amaze me how much damage motor vehicles cause and yet without any thought as to how ridiculous it is. I imagine it will be taxpayers who cover the cost of this.