This just in from TriMet: Starting February 2nd, bicycle traffic will face a detour at the south end of the Eastbank Esplande for “preconstruction work” on the forthcoming Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail bridge over the Willamette River.
The detour is between SE Clay and Caruthers and is scheduled to be in place through February 11th. Here’s a map of the proposed detour route provided by TriMet:
People riding bicycles will be routed east at SE Clay just south of the Hawthorne Bridge and onto SE Water. If riding from the south, you’ll be directed onto Water to go north and back onto the Esplanade at SE Clay. People using the Esplanade on foot will not be impacted by this detour.
UPDATE: In a follow-up email, TriMet’s Mary Fetsch has clarified a few things. The detour will be in place 24 hours because of equipment on the path, and the reason why walking access is maintained while bicycling is not is because part of the detour (on the Esplanade) will traverse onto a private sidewalk and the owners (Portland Opera) didn’t want anyone on a bike to use the sidewalk due to liability concerns.