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Multnomah County’s Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge Project will receive $20 million in state money through House Bill 5030, which the Oregon Legislature passed on June 25. Gov. Tina Kotek signed the bill into law on Aug. 4.

House Bill 5030 authorizes the issuance of $453 million in lottery revenue bonds for a variety of projects, including the Burnside Bridge project. The $20 million will go toward construction of the new Burnside Bridge.

鈥淲e are thrilled to receive this state funding,鈥� Megan Neill, project manager, said in a news release. 鈥淚t helps build momentum for the project and validates the importance of investing in the resiliency of our transportation system.鈥�

Currently, none of downtown Portland’s Willamette River bridges will be immediately usable after a major earthquake. Multnomah County is leading an effort to replace the current Burnside Bridge with one that can withstand a Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake. It is one of the largest earthquake resilience projects in Oregon.

The county so far has been successful in securing multiple sources of funding in an effort to raise $895 million for the project. To date, the county and local partners have committed to funding $300 million for the project through the local vehicle registration fee. The county is actively pursuing various grants and other funding opportunities at the local, state and federal levels to fully fund the project.

The county also is pursuing federal grants from the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. On Aug. 3, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners approved the project’s Notice of Intent to apply for $447 million from the FY 2023-2024 USDOT Multimodal Projects Discretionary Grant Program. The county will be submitting the grant application this month. The funding would go toward the project’s construction phase.

The county recently selected HDR Inc. as the lead consultant for the design phase of the project. The project team will be selecting a construction manager/general contractor this fall.