Popular route to Marine Drive closed for five months – UPDATED

This isn’t a new closure, but after experiencing it myself over the weekend and just hearing about it from a reader — and given that it will last for up to five months — I wanted to get something up about it. See below for details and a map from the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and consider other ways to access the Marine Drive path if you can…

Culvert construction will close NE 33rd Drive next week

A culvert replacement project will close NE 33rd Drive beginning Monday, July 15 where it crosses Buffalo Slough just north of NE Columbia Boulevard. The street will be closed all days and all hours for up to five months.

The city’s contractor had originally planned to close the street today and has postponed the closure until next Monday.

Detour signs will direct traffic to NE Argyle Street and NE Riverside Way to access the NE 21st Avenue bridge across the slough.

Buffalo Slough is a southern branch of the Columbia Slough. The project will replace a culvert that is too high to allow year-round flow. The new culvert will improve water quality and fish habitat.

The Bureau of Environmental Services works with Portland residents and businesses to protect water quality, public health, and the environment through wastewater collection and treatment, sewer construction and maintenance, stormwater management, and stream and watershed restoration.

UPDATE, 1:39 pm on 8/5:
BES has just sent out this update:

Safety Reminders:
Pedestrians and bicycles are not allowed in the construction zone. All traffic (vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles) must use the detour route. All detour route users should proceed slowly, with caution, and with a heightened sense of awareness about what is going on in their surroundings. Some things to watch for include:
· Bicycles on the road.
· Vehicles entering and exiting driveways.
· Pedestrians crossing the road to and from industrial work sites.
· Semi trucks making wide turns as they navigate the detour route on their way to their shipping and receiving destinations.