At long last, the Vancouver Avenue Bridge is open

Open!
(Photo: bobcycle)

The North Vancouver Avenue Bridge has finally been re-opened. The bridge, which provides a crucial north-south link for bicycle traffic over the Columbia Slough, was closed for nearly a year for much-needed repairs to its foundation.

The closure caused headaches for people who bike between Vancouver and North Portland because the detours around the construction were far from ideal. As we reported about three months after the closure, many people raised concerns about the safety and accessibility of the detours.

Making matter worse were several delays in the completion of the project (due to a number of factors, including wet weather that delayed paving work).

It’s got a pretty new railing.
(Photo: City of Portland)

Asked about the delays, PBOT told us, “The [transportation] bureau understands that this is an important route for cyclists with a challenging detour. We’re working with the contractor to finish the project as quickly as possible without compromising the structure.”

Originally slated to re-open in December 2010, City of Portland pushed back the date to the end of February. Then, the date was pushed back to mid-April.

Finally, yesterday, we got confirmation from the City of Portland that the bridge is now open. BikePortland Forum user “bobcycle” posted a photo and message on a thread about the project.

I haven’t made it over to check out the scene myself. Have you? We’d love to hear a report from some regular Vancouver Bridge commuters.

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Marcus Griffith
Marcus Griffith
12 years ago

Nice!

beth h
12 years ago

SO excellent! Can’t watit to use it again.

Allan Rudwick
Allan
12 years ago

its been rideable for the past 2 weeks or so. not amazing but rideable. I’m glad to see that this is officially reopened. Riding to/from delta park and points north is made tolerable with this bridge, but we could still make more improvements 🙂

She
She
12 years ago

I rode it last Saturday to Delta Park for a Soccer game, it was rough but passable.

K'Tesh
K'Tesh
12 years ago

And on the westside, we got a new segment of the Fanno Creek Trail finishe… Yay!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/5692660434/in/photostream

marshmallow
marshmallow
12 years ago
Reply to  K'Tesh

Nice. Cyclists would enter the bike lane then legally be allowed to exit into the center turn lane and enter the east side trail. Not that one couldn’t do that before, but this makes it easier.

marshmallow
marshmallow
12 years ago

“No bums!”

Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
12 years ago

No shoulder/ bike lanes across the bridge?

jim
jim
12 years ago

does this mean the bums can move back in under the bridge again?

Grandpa
Grandpa
12 years ago

It doesn’t look like it is striped yet, but there is bike lane striping in the design.

are
12 years ago

according to the bobcycle post, cyclists will be urged to use the sidewalk. it looks like there are two traffic lanes in each direction, each well over ten feet wide. is this what “we” wanted?

MIddle of the Road Guy
MIddle of the Road Guy
12 years ago

seems like it was closed for 2 years. Am i mistaken?

Anna
Anna
12 years ago

anyone know if PDOT is planning on installing a bike light sensor in the southbound direction bike lane ? that would really be nice……

Residentevil
Residentevil
12 years ago

Let it ripp this evening. Nice bridge. Good job. Seems like there is still some work to be done.