4 • The Southwest Portland Post
NEWS
February 2014
Sellwood Bridge slated for temporary closure Feb. 15
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
The Sellwood Bridge closure has been
rescheduled to start at 12:01 a.m. on
Saturday, Feb. 15 and end by 5:00 a.m.
on Thursday, Feb. 20.
The closure will affect all traffic,
including bicyclists and pedestrians.
This work is necessary as it will allow
the contractor to work on a wall for the
new west side interchange.
The dates were shifted to avoid clos-
ing the bridge on Valentine’s Day and
negatively impacting local restaurants
and retailers.
The closure still includes two normal
commuting days (Feb. 18 – 19). Feb. 17
is the Presidents’ Day holiday.
The west end signal is often turned
off on weekdays between 9:00 a.m.
and 4:00 p.m. when flaggers direct traf-
fic. New curbing and lane delineation
were recently added to the interchange.
Major excavation work continues for
the walls on the west side of Hwy. 43.
Drilling and pouring for foundation
shafts for the southeast ramp of the new
interchange continues.
According to county spokesman
Mike Pullen, work on retaining walls
for the regional trail and trolley corridor
(between the bridge and the Stephens
Creek area near Freeman Motors) con-
tinues as well.
“Trucks access the work zone from
the old Staff Jennings entrance, Mac-
adam Bay and Miles Street,” said Pul-
len. A new traffic signal has also been
installed.
“Please note that the only signal
phase that requires westbound bridge
traffic to stop at the west end of the
bridge is when a pedestrian or bicyclist
activates the signal to use the cross-
walk,” Pullen explained.
Highway 43 (Macadam Avenue) will
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Sellwood Bridge workers pave the new trolley corridor on the west side of the Willamette
River in early January. (Photo courtesy of Multnomah County)
remain open during the closure of the
bridge. Motorists, bicyclists, and pedes-
trians should make other plans to cross
the Willamette River those days.
View live construction from two
cameras at www.sellwoodbridge.
org/?p=construction-camera. For proj-
ect information, please contact Mike Pullen
(mike.j.pullen@multco.us, 503-209-4111)
or visit www.sellwoodbridge.org.
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(Continued from Page 1)
Small business crimes
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An unusual amount of break-ins oc-
curred in December in Southwest com-
munities. At least three businesses were
broken into on the same date according
to Stefanie Adams, crime prevention
coordinator for Southwest Portland.
In Multnomah Village, during the
early morning hours of Dec. 19, Nectar
Frozen Yogurt Lounge, 7847 SW Capitol
Hwy, was broken into. The perpetrator
broke the window of the entry door to
gain access. It didn’t appear that he got
away with anything valuable. There is
no clear description of the offender from
the security camera footage.
Apparently, on the same morning,
MVP Volvo, at the 3500 block of South-
west Multnomah Boulevard, had a
glass door broken and not much of
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value was taken according to owner
Paul Erickson.
In the Barbur Crossroads, between
4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m., the front entry door
was broken to gain access to Metro Car
Care at 10400 SW Capitol Hwy. A small
amount of cash was taken. There are no
suspects listed at this time.
According to the city Office of Neigh-
borhood Involvement website, a com-
mercial burglary is committed when
there is unlawful entry of a commercial
structure with the intent to commit a
crime, usually a theft.
It’s non-confrontational crime which
occurs when a shop is closed and un-
occupied. Financial losses due to these
crimes can result in layoffs or cutbacks
and may also leave staff feeling violated
and vulnerable.
According to ONI, most burglars are
motivated by economic gain. They tend
to target property that is portable, valu-
able, and can easily be converted to cash
and/or readily exchanged for drugs. In
some cases, the burglars commit return
fraud by taking the stolen items to a
store and asking for a refund.
In Hillsdale, on the evening of Jan.
5, Central Precinct officers were dis-
patched to the Baskin Robbins at 6371
SW Capitol Hwy on a report of a sexual
assault.
Officers arrived and contacted the
victim (a juvenile) who reported that
a subject had entered the location and
grabbed her in a sexual manner while
behaving lewdly.
Officers began a search of the area and
were able to apprehend a suspect. Ac-
cording to the Portland Police Bureau,
detectives recently arrested Themba
Hassan Kelley, a 44-year-old male, on
charges of Sex Abuse I and related of-
fenses on the alleged sexual assault of
a juvenile who was working alone at
Baskin-Robbins in Hillsdale.
The bureau believes that all the sus-
pects in this case have been identified.
Stefanie Adams (Southwest crime
prevention coordinator) is available to
come to businesses to offer training and
tips for employees, managers and own-
ers. Please contact her at 503-823-3131
or stefanie.adams@portlandoregon.gov.