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A new Sellwood Bridge is expected to cost $321 million, and Multnomah County still doesn’t know where all the money will come from.

Millions of dollars could soon be devoted to the project, but nothing is certain, according to the county. Months of negotiations and discussions are looming.

But Multnomah County is excited about a 鈥済iant step鈥� toward building a replacement Sellwood Bridge over the Willamette River. Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed the Jobs and Transportation Act into law last week, and the state will give the county $30 million for the construction of an interchange where the new bridge will connect with Highway 43.

The legislation also allows Multnomah and Clackamas counties to enact local vehicle registration fees for the first time.

But there are some hurdles for this 鈥済iant step.鈥�

In the big picture, Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury said, the $30 million is ultimately a drop in the bucket for a project costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

She said the vehicle registration fees will take at least a year to implement, because all Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division computers in Multnomah and Clackamas counties will have to be upgraded to account for the new fees.

Before that can take place, the two counties will have to determine how much the fees will be. The state already charges vehicle owners $55 per two-year registration period.

鈥淗ow much money we generate depends on what level (of vehicle registration fees) people support,鈥� Kafoury said.

Also as a result of the Jobs and Transportation Act’s passage, the city of Portland has agreed to give Multnomah County $160 million over 20 years 鈥� on one condition: Mayor Sam Adams‘ office wants the new bridge to be 鈥渟treetcar ready.鈥� The $160 million would go toward paying off the bonds the county will eventually use to pay for the project.

鈥淩ight now, as we start to discuss this, we have to see now how much of the project will be the bridge itself and how much will be part of the future streetcar expansion,鈥� said Mike Pullen, communications director for Multnomah County.

Multnomah County wants Adams’ office to define 鈥渟treetcar ready鈥� before moving ahead on the design and engineering phase of the project, he said. Multnomah County would like to move forward on design and engineering by 2010.

Kafoury did not say whether she supported building the bridge with streetcar tracks already in place. 鈥淚f you put streetcar tracks on the bridge, that implies the streetcar is imminent,鈥� she said.

The streetcar expansion through Sellwood would eventually be the second expansion, after the proposed line that will cross the new Willamette River bridge and travel through Lake Oswego. That project, however, is still in the early design stages.

Building a new Sellwood Bridge with streetcar tracks imbedded into the pavement has been part of the discussion since the early days of the process, Adams said.

鈥淭he last thing people want to see is asphalt jackhammered up to put in new streetcar tracks after the bridge has been built,鈥� he said.

The commitment by the city of Portland to give Multnomah County $160 million over 20 years also depends on whether the city receives at least $15 million per year in new tax revenue as a result of the increased gas tax approved in the Jobs and Transportation Act.

A United States Senate subcommittee late last week also approved an allocation for $1.3 million for the design and engineering phase of the bridge project. The appropriations bill will go before the House and Senate. Multnomah County also plans to seek $40 million in matching federal funds for bridge construction.