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After six years, $5 million and hours of public testimony, members of the Salem City Council agree that Salem needs a new bridge.

Now they just have to decide when and where to build it and how much it will cost.

Don’t expect those decisions any time soon, said Salem’s Transportation Planning Manager Julie Warncke. It could be months before the city council makes a formal decision. In fact, council members have yet to formally vote on whether Salem needs another bridge.

Their agreement Nov. 28 was more of a general consensus after two public hearings where members of the public packed the council chambers. Some of them supported a new bridge across the Willamette River connecting West Salem to the Salem Parkway and Interstate 5. Most people opposed it.

Now council members are kicking the idea of bridge around amongst themselves, Warncke said. “In general, the councilors agreed we need another bridge,” she said. “It wasn’t a vote. It wasn’t a decision. That’s a technicality, but it’s an important technicality.”

In the meantime, the council is still accepting written testimony for and against a bridge for a public hearing that closes Dec. 10. Warncke said more testimony could be taken Dec. 10, but she rather hopes the council will hold off until it holds more work sessions.

“These work sessions are really the council’s opportunity to consider the proposals,” she said. “They’re in process of trying to provide their input on what a bridge should look like.”

Members of the Salem River Crossing Task Force recommend a $630 million bridge after spending $5 million on consultants and architectural concepts, but that’s just the latest proposal. The idea of building a third bridge has been discussed and studied for more than 30 years. Still, Warnke said no firm decisions are forthcoming.

“It’s still early in the process,” she said.