This just in from PBOT…

TRAFFIC ADVISORY Extended North Lombard / Marine Drive road closure for bridge construction

(Portland, Ore.) – The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation advises the traveling public that construction work on the bridge that carries traffic on N Lombard Street over the Columbia Slough near Kelly Point Park will require an extended road closure. The Columbia Slough Bridge will be closed all hours, all days to all vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians during construction beginning April 16, 2011 and continuing through August 2011.

The public is advised that Kelly Point Park will remain open, with access only from N Marine Drive for the duration of construction.

The purpose of the project is to replace the deteriorated bridge deck. Signs of distress due to heavy freight traffic are evident in the structural cracks that are visible in the existing concrete deck and approach slabs. Failure to replace the deck would result in weight restriction of the bridge, which would limit traffic movement at the crossing.

The project will include replacing the bridge deck, upgrading bridge rails to meet current safety standards, and adding a sidewalk for bicycle and pedestrian use that will connect to existing trails on each side of the bridge.

A full bridge closure is necessary during construction because the existing bridge is too narrow to accommodate both construction activity and public traffic simultaneously (known as staged construction). Traffic volume is too high to meet traffic safety standards to keep one lane open during construction to accommodate two-way traffic. In addition, a one-lane bridge during construction would likely increase the risk of head-on collisions, particularly at night and on weekends. Finally, staged construction, instead of a full bridge closure, would add months to the construction timeline and disruption to traffic.

The bridge closure and detours will be in effect all hours, all days during construction. See attachments for detour map.

Questions regarding the bridge deck replacement should be directed to engineer Cameron Glasgow at 503-823-9726 or email cameron.glasgow@portlandoregon.gov.

Rise Again, an art show to raise money for Japan disaster relief, will feature several artists and crafters who are regulars in the Portland bike scene.

The list of artists include: former BikeCraft vendor Tiago DeJerk, whose stencil paintings have graced the Pedalpalooza Poster among other things; Skye Blue, one of the founding members of the Irondelles tall-bike gang; RaRa Goforth, a former Sprockette, and others.

Rise Again happens tomorrow night (4/1) as part of the First Friday artwalk from 7:00 – 11:00 pm at Saint Furniture (950 SE Taylor St). Check out the event website for more info.