October 2016
NEWS
The Southwest Portland Post • 7
Lower bridge will carry peds and bikes southbound toward Lake Oswego
SELLWOOD BRIDGE
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
It’s getting down to the wire. The
new Sellwood Bridge will soon be
void of all construction equipment,
detours, and closures.
That’s the latest news from
Multnomah County spokesperson
Mike Pullen as construction workers
try to wrap up the project before the
December holidays.
Westbound traffic across the bridge
can now turn left at the west end to
access Highway 43 south (Macadam
Avenue). The turnaround loop for
southbound traffic at Taylors Ferry
Road has closed.
New signals have been installed at
the west end of the bridge and have
caused some additional congestion
on onramps entering the bridge from
the highway.
City transportation engineers are
making incremental adjustments
to the signals to determine optimal
timing to reduce congestion. Staff
members are considering timing of
the signals at the east side of the
bridge on Southeast Tacoma Street
(at 6th Avenue, 13th Avenue and
farther east) and the volume of traffic
at different days and times.
“It will take some time to finalize
the signal timing for traffic flow
through all the signals in the area,”
said Pullen. “Continue to expect
delays during this necessary process
The lower bridge will carry bicyclists and pedestrians from the westside trail to the south
side of the Sellwood Bridge. (Photo courtesy of Multnomah County)
"Stratum Project," is a series of ecologically inspired geologic sculptural totems created
by artist Mikyoung Kim from Boston. (Photo courtesy of Multnomah County)
and drive with caution.”
As for the multiuse path bridge,
the concrete has been stained rust
red to match the arch spans. The
bridge will carry bicyclists and
pedestrians from the regional trail
under the main bridge to reach its
south sidewalk.
Topsoil has been installed on
adjacent slopes and drainage near
the trolley corridor. A sub-ballast
will be placed on this later. The
contractor has removed the last piles
from the detour bridge and piles are
also being removed from the old
dock at Staff Jennings.
“They continue to cut the old
bridge steel into smaller pieces,”
Pullen said. “The pieces are then
placed on a barge for transport to a
local recycler.”
The first set of statues by artist
Mikyoung Kim has been installed
on the south side of Tacoma Street
between Southeast Sixth Avenue and
the bridge.
Statues on the north side of Tacoma
Street will be installed this fall. Kim’s
concept, “Stratum Project,” is a series
of ecologically inspired geologic
sculptural totems.
According to Pullen, layers
of various recycled and formed
materials create a quilted surface
that represents earth, water and
sky as the gateway to the Sellwood
neighborhood.
For information on the bridge
project, please visit http://www.
sellwoodbridge.org/
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