91ÊÓƵ

POWER LIST: ENGINEERING

As Portland has grown in population, the numbers of motor vehicle drivers (and bicyclists and pedestrians) have grown as well, and traffic snarls have played out on city streets that were built for fewer people and an earlier era of transportation.

Harper Houf Peterson Righellis was tasked with improving West Burnside Street, a key artery in a fast-growing part of Portland that was designated as a high-crash corridor. City data showed 76 percent of crashes on Burnside occurred west of the Burnside Bridge.

The Portland engineering firm worked closely with the Portland Bureau of Transportation, TriMet and local stakeholders to design improvements on a constrained site with steep grades and heavy vehicle, freight, bike and pedestrian traffic.

The project team replaced antiquated signals that were not optimized for multimodal traffic, according to HHPR. Specialized signal phasing was installed to allow drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians to have their own priority phases to improve safety and ease traffic flow in all directions.

A raised cycle track was built on Southwest Alder Street between Northwest 18th and 19th streets instead of a standard striped bike lane, which lacks a physical barrier.

Curb extensions were installed to enhance safety for pedestrian crossings. The extensions also allowed greater outdoor seating when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

HHPR dealt with an 8 percent grade that made building Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant infrastructure a challenge. Underground infrastructure and previous development caused surprises during construction.

Overall, the raised cycle track, signage and signaling serve to warn drivers that they’re entering a busy multimodal area, and raise safety for nonmotorized transportation.

The $2.4 million project was delivered on budget, and within the city’s timeline.