As crews continue to work on the Blumenauer Bridge project in Portland, preparation is under way to install the main span across Interstate 84 in February – a major construction move that will require closure of the highway for a full weekend.

The installation will be a milestone for the effort to build the bicycle and pedestrian bridge at Northeast Seventh Avenue. Once the span is in place, about six months of additional work will be necessary to finish the project, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

The $13.7 million bridge will provide a key north-south connection for Northeast Portland, city officials said.

“Lloyd and the Central Eastside are two of our fastest-growing neighborhoods,” PBOT spokeswoman Hannah Schafer said. “There are a lot of folks who want to come from Northeast to Southeast or downtown, and this will provide an overpass to do that.”

Blumenauer Bridge, known previously in planning as Sullivan’s Crossing, will extend 475 feet and span 24 feet in width. The bridge will have a 14-foot-wide path for two-way bicycle traffic, and a 10-foot-wide path for pedestrians.

KPFF designed the tied-arch span structure. HP Civil Inc., based in Stayton, is serving as construction manager-general contractor. West Side Iron Inc. of Springfield, a state-certified minority business enterprise, is delivering and assembling the bridge structure.

Overall, the project has more than 30 percent participation from woman-owned, minority-owned or disadvantaged businesses, Schafer said.

The project team has encountered a number of obstacles. Conduit has been tough to come by, said Trey Senatore, a PBOT public works inspector.

“We’ve had huge delays in getting materials,” he said.

Social distancing required by the state’s response to the pandemic has also slowed work. Although the guidelines are critical, Senatore said, “it’s hard to work as efficiently as you can with those guidelines in place.”

Schafer said she was not aware of any positive COVID-19 tests among project workers.

Staging and storage have also proved tough on the tight site, PBOT officials said.

Installation of the span will mark an important moment for the project team. A work bridge is being built from the north side. A gantry crane will be used to slowly move the span into place.

A date for the I-84 closure has not been set, but PBOT officials are tentatively targeting a weekend in mid-February. Both lanes of the interstate will be closed from Friday night to Monday morning to minimize disruptions to commuters.

Blumenauer Bridge, named for Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland, a well-known bicycling advocate, is being constructed at the same time as Flanders Crossing, another bridge that will be off-limits to motor vehicles. Flanders Crossing is shorter and spans Interstate 405 in West Portland. The project teams are separate, with Wildish Standard Paving Co. leading construction of Flanders Crossing.

Along with Tilikum Crossing, the car-free bridges further Portland’s push to connect residents to workplaces without vehicle commuting. Blumenauer Bridge has been embraced by bike advocates.

“It’s extremely valuable as a connection because we’ve really missed out on some chances to put connections on the MLK-Grand couplet,” said Jonathan Maus, editor and publisher of Bike Portland, a popular news website for transportation issues. “We really need better north-south connections, and connecting it on (Northeast Seventh Avenue) is great.”

The bridge will form a link of the Green Loop, the city’s concept for a route through central Portland that prioritizes bicyclists and pedestrians on both sides of the Willamette River.

A screen will block any objects from being thrown off the bridge, but there will be spaces for bridge users to take photos to the west, where the bridge will have striking views of downtown and the West Hills.

PBOT project manager Dan Layden praised the bridge’s “landmark design.”

“It will be one of those things that Portland is known for,” he said.

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