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A committee overseeing the project to build a third bridge over the Willamette River in Salem has selected a preferred design.

The Salem River Crossing Oversight Team last week chose a segmental precast concrete box design over steel tiered arch or cast-in-place concrete box girder options. Committee members reasoned that a precast concrete box system would be more attractive than a steel girder bridge and require less maintenance, Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman Lou Torres said.

鈥淭he design maybe looks better because it uses concrete sections,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s unfortunately going to be a bit more expensive than a steel girder system.鈥�

A precast concrete box bridge could cost between $100 million and $140 million, Torres said. Other construction, such as roads leading up to the bridge, could push the cost for the entire project to somewhere between $350 million and $450 million.

鈥淲hat really drives up the cost is your connections on either end of the bridge,鈥� he said.

The bridge would span the Willamette River in North Salem to reduce congestion on the city’s Marion Street and Center Street bridges. Unlike those two existing bridges, which carry only one-way traffic, the new bridge would accommodate cars traveling in both directions, Torres said.

Now that a bridge design has been selected, the next step will be to secure money for the project, he said.

鈥淲e haven’t even figured out how we’re going to pay for it,鈥� he said.