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Celebrating 21 years of continuous Southwest news coverage!
Volume No. 22, Issue No. 8
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Gaddis’ dream at
April Hill Park is
getting closer
to reality
– Page 5
Complimentary
June 2014
Work continues on retaining walls,
trolley corridor north of the bridge
SELLWOOD BRIDGE
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
Lying next to the Columbia
River, two large spans are be-
ing readied for their trip down
the Willamette to the Sellwood
Bridge work zone.
Built at Thompson Metal Fab
in Vancouver, each arch rib is
about 300 feet long and weighs
400 tons. They are so heavy that
a naval architect will need to
develop the plan for loading
them in sections onto a barge, to
ensure the barge remains stable.
According to Mike Pullen,
c o m m u n i c a t i o n o ff i c e r w i t h
Multnomah County, the spans
are set to travel the river some-
time in November.
Southwest Macadam Avenue
(Hwy. 43) continues to have
weekday lane closures. The out-
side southbound lane is closed
weekdays (except from 4 p.m.
to 7 p.m.) between Taylors Ferry
Road and the edge of the project
south of the bridge. The contrac-
tor is working on retaining walls.
A northbound lane is closed
weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
north of the bridge during exca-
vation and ground anchor instal-
lation for the retaining walls.
“We appreciate commuters’ pa-
tience during the recent closure
(May 13-16) and the delays,”
Pullen said.
Crews are building forms and
installing rebar for the pier cap
while this summer pre-cast gird-
ers will be trucked in and set on
columns between the abutment
and at the river ’s edge.
Wo r k w i l l c o n t i n u e o n t h e
slope that will support the trol-
ley and trail corridor north of
the bridge. It is being reinforced.
The Portland Water Bureau is
in the process of installing a new
water line on Southwest Miles
Place. The line is part of street
improvements for a section of re-
gional trail between Willamette
Park and the bridge.
Northwest Natural (the gas
company) is also doing work on
Miles Place. Street construction
is expected to begin in early
June.
Normal weekday work hours
are 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Crews
will work during the day on Sat-
urdays for several weeks.
For more information, contact
Mike Pullen at mike.j.pullen@
multco.us and 503-209-4111 or
visit www.sellwoodbridge.org.
Workers install girders on Bent 6 on the east side approach of the new Sellwood Bridge.
(Photo courtesy of Mike Pullen, Multnomah County)
Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 6.
The Southwest Portland Post
4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509
Portland, OR 97206
City of Portland staff members Joan Frederiksen and Denver Igarta along with Kay
Durtschi, of Multnomah, discuss various options for the Southwest Corridor.
(Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
Government officials receive input from
community at Multnomah forum
SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR PLAN
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
Decisions about the Southwest
Corridor Plan are coming to a
head for residents and regional
planners. Meeting after meeting
has been going on since July and
finalization of everyone’s input is
due in early June.
Executives and elected officials
of the major agencies and orga-
nizations involved attended a
community forum April 29 at the
Multnomah Arts Center to listen
to community input.
Maryanne Fitzgerald of South-
west Neighborhoods, Inc., Port-
land Mayor Charlie Hales, Neil
McFarlane of TriMet, Portland
Transportation Commissioner
Steve Novick, Metro Councilor
Bob Stacey, and Jason Tell of the
Oregon Department of Transpor-
tation all participated.
Tell reported how ODOT is
short on money due to declining
revenue and unreliability.
“It’s so bad,” Tell warned, “that
Congress has to act before Sep-
tember to keep the current budget
intact. The feds used to pick up 90
percent of the bill in the old days.”
“High capacity transit is not
enough,” Stacy said. “We’re put-
ting emphasis on safety and pe-
destrians and bikes.”
Novick said he is biased and ex-
plained how he lost weight while
living in the D.C. area because the
transit was so good. So good, in
fact, that he didn’t need a car.
McFarlane, a frequent bus rider,
shared that his role is to protect
the environment, have frequent
service lines, and to continue
investments.
“I want to preserve livability,”
McFarlane said. “Congestion
can’t support the area as the re-
gion grows.”
Mayor Hales thanked every-
one for their participation. He
summarized his past roles in the
Hayhurst neighborhood and his
work on the MAX Red Line.
“In those days, the process
moved very quickly,” Hales said.
“Then bam, we had a rail line to
the airport.”
“But we realized we needed to
engage everyone for success.” he
continued. “This particular cor-
ridor has its own challenges and
geology.”
According to Malu Wilkinson,
Metro Southwest Corridor Project
Manager, the draft recommen-
dations for Southwest Corridor
design options have been sub-
mitted.
Recommendations were based
on the following: capital cost
magnitudes, such as tunnels;
impacts to the natural environ-
ment, including trees, parks, and
watersheds; development/rede-
velopment potential; property
impacts; traffic/bike/pedestrian
performance, and transit perfor-
mance.
Final input from the public
will be on June 9, which is the
anticipated date for the Steering
Committee recommendation on
the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement phase. Metro Council
action on Steering Committee rec-
ommendations is expected June
26. For more information, visit
www.swcorridorplan.org.