I have some very good news for anyone Portland who breathes: the Parks bureau says they’re committed to building a bridge over North Columbia Blvd at Chimney Park — a key element of the 40-Mile Loop and link in the North Portland Greenway that will connect St. Johns to Kelly Point Park and beyond.
Back in November, trail advocates were dismayed to learn that Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) claimed a $3-4 million funding shortfall meant they could only build a standard, at-grade crossing to get trail users over the busy, high-speed, industrial truck traffic on Columbia Blvd. The bridge had been planned for years, much of the funding had been secured, and design was well underway when the announcement was made.
The official shift in stance came via the City of Portland’s Freight Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday, February 1st. Portland Bureau of Transportation Resources Manager Mark Lear told committee members he talked to PP&R Trail Planning Manager Brett Horner and learned that he was “feeling pretty positive about a grant they’re going to apply for.”
Specifically, PP&R plans to apply for a grant through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal grant program administered by the State of Oregon.
Asked to confirm this news, a PP&R spokesperson told BikePortland today that, “Our staff have taken the necessary steps with ODOT [Oregon Department of Transportation] and Metro to resume the design effort and will continue looking for supplemental funding sources as the project moves forward.”
Stay tuned and watch the official project website for opportunities to support this project and provide feedback on the design.
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
Your graphic shows the immediate project area, but a larger view, extending from the Pier Park/Chimney Park bridge into and beyond the St Johns Prairie (aka Landfill), would be helpful for readers. The Columbia Blvd. Bridge is really the lynch pin for both 40 Mile Loop and N. Portland Greenway Trails in North Portland.
huzzah! great news.
Don’t count your grant chickens before they lay!
This bridge is an integral part of the trail project that PPR won money from METRO in 2022 https://www.portland.gov/parks/news/2022/10/18/ppr-receives-metro-funding-three-projects
The bridge is on the 2021-2024/26 METRO Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and is RTP ID 11640. see page 25 of the METRO TIP here: https://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/2023/09/07/2021-2026-MTIP-Programming-083129.pdf
The utility of this crossing stands in stark contrast to the utter uselessness of the Red Electric Bridge in Hillsdale.
I’m still amazed the city spent $5M on it. Oh well.
I really wish they would also build a bridge over North Portlaand Road, between the Peninsula Crossing Trail and the Marine Drive Trail. I haven’t been there lately because this crossing really scares me.