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The Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program team on Thursday briefed the Portland Design Commission on design options for a new bridge.

The Design Commission does not have any regulatory rule over the project. However, the design professionals鈥� expertise was sought by the program team to help ensure a successful design.

The purpose of the briefing was to bring the commissioners up to speed on the modified Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) recommendation, which includes three northbound and southbound lands, a partial interchange to and from Hayden Island, a shared use bike path, public transit across the river and a full interchange exiting the bridge on the Oregon side.

鈥淭his project is a lot more mammoth than I had anticipated,鈥� Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

While the project is very early in the design phase 鈥� about 1 percent of the way complete 鈥� commissioners said they would like to see drawings of the visual impact the replacement bridge would have from the ground; none was shown.

Commissioner Zari Santner said her main concern would be the impact on Hayden Island. She does not want to see the island cast in shadow. The new bridge could last more than a century, and that area could completely change during that time, she said.

The Design Commission plans to write a letter to the Portland City Council about creating an urban design advisory group for the IBR program. A group was created for the Columbia River Crossing, which fizzled, in 2013.

Commissioner Brian McCarter said he is looking forward to the next meeting, with he and his peers 鈥渞eally rolling up our sleeves and seeing more of what this thing鈥檚 gonna be like and look like and operate.鈥�