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Multnomah County announced last week that it will delay its push to build an $895 million Burnside Bridge replacement as the project team pursues federal grants.

Citing 鈥渟ignificant uncertainty at the federal level,鈥� county officials said Thursday that they would defer construction while pursuing additional funding, including future rounds of federal grant awards.

鈥淲e鈥檙e continuing to look at every avenue we can to fund the project, both federal and local, and state,鈥� Multnomah County Transportation Director Jon Henrichsen said.

The action will push back the start of construction by a year to at least 2028, with completion then expected in 2033.

To fund bridge construction, the county has applied for federal grants in the Mega (National Infrastructure Project Assistance) program and the Bridge Investment Program.

鈥淪o far we haven鈥檛 been successful in winning any federal grants,鈥� Henrichsen said.

Applicants are given feedback and then allowed to reapply.

鈥淲e roll those over,鈥� Henrichsen said.

The Burnside Bridge replacement hit the 30 percent design mark in October; it鈥檚 now as much as 60 percent designed, Henrichsen said.

County officials said they would continue to move forward with replacing the bridge, which is viewed as seismically vulnerable.

鈥淭he county remains committed to resilience projects like the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge Project, which are critical for our region,鈥� county Chairwoman Jessica Vega Pederson stated in a news release. 鈥淭his seismically resilient bridge will not only provide much needed infrastructure, it will be an immediately usable lifeline route for emergency responders in the wake of a major earthquake, increase multimodal transit options, and help us meet climate goals for the long term.鈥�

In September, the Board of Commissioners decided to move ahead with an inverted-Y cable stay design.

The county has advanced other preparations. Workers dug a 10-foot-wide, 125-foot-long test shaft in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

HDR is the lead design consultant for the bridge project. In 2023, a joint venture of Stacy and Witbeck, Traylor Bros. and American Bridge Co. were selected as construction manager/general contractor under the name Burnside Bridge Partners.

The lack of federal grants coming to the bridge project is unrelated to federal funding freezes seen in some programs under the Trump administration, Henrichsen said.

However, a much smaller project has been delayed by a federal funding freeze, he added. The replacement of a culvert on Beaver Creek at Troutdale Road with a 100-foot-long bridge relies on a $1.4 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration鈥檚 National Culvert Removal, Replacement and Restoration grant program. That grant has not been forthcoming, Henrichsen said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 some indication that that Troutdale project could start moving again soon,鈥� he said.