Multnomah County is seeking a $447 million Bridge Investment Program grant from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to help pay for construction of the Burnside Bridge replacement.

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the grant proposal on Thursday. The proposal is due by Aug. 1.

If the county were to receive the grant, funds would need to be obligated by Sept. 30, 2029, and used by Sept. 30, 2034. The money would be allocated by USDOT from Fiscal Year 2028 through 2033.

A 50 percent match is required for the grant, which would consist of $421 million in bonding secured by the county’s vehicle registration fee, $20 million from the state via HB 5030 (passed during the 2023 legislative session) and $7 million from other federal sources (a $5 million RAISE planning grant and a $2 million congressional appropriation).

According to the project’s website, the budget is not to exceed $895 million.

Large bridge projects with total eligible costs greater than $100 million are candidates for Bridge Investment Program grants, a county staff report states. Approximately $2.45 billion is available in Fiscal Year 2026 and will be awarded on a competitive basis for bridge replacement, rehabilitation and preservation projects.

Megan Neill, engineering services manager for Multnomah County, said the grant would go a long way toward funding project construction. The money would be used to pay contractors.

The effort to replace the Burnside Bridge began in 2016. The environmental review phase was completed in January 2024, and the design phase began in September 2023. If the team were to secure full funding, construction could begin as early as 2028.

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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.

“We are thrilled to receive this state funding,” Megan Neill, project manager, said in a news release. “It helps build momentum for the project and validates the importance of investing in the resiliency of our transportation system.”

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.

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The project to replace Portland’s Burnside Bridge with a seismically resilient one will enter the final design phase this summer. The phase’s duration will be at least 2.5 years.

Currently, there will be no immediately usable bridges in downtown Portland after a major earthquake, the project’s website states. Multnomah County is leading the effort to replace the 97-year-old Burnside Bridge with one able to fill that void as a lifeline route across the Willamette River. The county identified the project in its capital improvement plan in 2016.

“We really need a structure that is just maintainable and something that’s going to last for another 100 years,” Multnomah County construction project manager Emily Miletich said.

The project’s environmental review phase finished recently. The team is now looking at a few design options for the “Preferred Alternative.”

Options include a west span girder bridge type, a movable span, and an east span with either a cable-supported or tied arch design. The project team will choose either the cable-supported or tied arch design in the final design phase. The team hopes to decide in late spring 2024.

During the environmental review phase, the project team decided to reduce the bridge width from five lanes to four lanes to reduce the project’s cost by up to $150 million, Multnomah County transportation public information officer Sarah Hurwitz stated in an email. Plans call for two westbound lanes and two eastbound lanes, with one of the latter being a bus-only lane. There will be protected lanes for bicyclists and pedestrians on both sides of the bridge.

The county recently selected HDR Inc. as the lead consultant for the design phase. A separate architect will likely be hired to help determine the bridge’s aesthetic features.

A request for proposals for a construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) will go out to bid in late June. A CM/GC will be selected in October.

“Both the contractor team and the design team will be working in the design phase to come up with a final bridge design,” Miletich said.

That will allow identification of risks early in the project and help mitigate any delays, she said.

The project has diversity and workforce equity goals, including a high percentage of participation by disadvantaged business enterprises and a high percentage of work performed by women and minorities.

The county selected 22 community members, including some with architecture backgrounds or knowledge of bridge history to serve on its Community Design Advisory Group. Beginning this fall, the group will join the project team in discussions about bridge aesthetics, such as lighting.

The project’s budget is $895 million. The county has committed to providing $300 million through its vehicle registration fee. In August 2022, the project received a $5 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant.

The county is pursuing two large federal grants from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – up to $535 million from the Mega grant program and up to $447 million from the Bridge Investment Program. Results from those applications will be announced later this year or early next year.

Construction of the new bridge is expected to start in 2025 or early 2026 and wrap up in approximately five years. No bridge will be available to carry Burnside Street traffic across the Willamette River during construction. The possibility of providing an adjacent, temporary detour bridge was ruled out by the community during the environmental review phase, mainly due to cost.

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Multnomah County’s Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project team is recruiting for a new Community Design Advisory Group. As the environmental review phase wraps up and final design begins, this group will provide the project team feedback on bridge aesthetics, including colors, materials, lighting, and shapes of certain features.

Since the project began in 2016, the county has emphasized work with the community. Several community groups have helped the project team make decisions throughout the environmental review phase.

The project will replace the existing Burnside Bridge with one that can withstand a major earthquake. In the event of such a disaster, the new bridge will provide a critical lifeline route for first responders and serve as a crucial link in community recovery.

To apply to join the Community Design Advisory Group, go to . The application period is open through Dec. 4. Selections for the group will be made in early January 2023.

This past spring, a Multnomah County policy group endorsed plans to narrow the bridge replacement project’s scope to limit costs. The revised design would reduce vehicle lanes from five to four. Bicyclist and pedestrian space would be reduced from 20 feet of the bridge’s width in an earlier design to 14 feet to 17 feet. The changes would save $125 million to $215 million, county officials estimated.

Megan Neill, a county spokeswoman, told the 91��Ƶ the county had given its finance officials an $895 million project budget from “soup to nuts,” including design and construction.

This past January, the task force recommended a bascule movable span and a girder structure for the west approach.

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A Multnomah County policy group on Thursday endorsed plans to narrow the Burnside Bridge replacement in a bid to limit costs to $895 million.

The revised design would reduce vehicle lanes from five to four. Bicyclist and pedestrian space would be reduced from 20 feet of the bridge’s width in an earlier design to 14 feet to 17 feet. The changes would save $125 million to $215 million, county officials estimated.

Community advisors said they preferred a wider bridge with more amenities but would accept a scaled-down design if it’s necessary to advance the project.

“If the choice is between having a smaller bridge and having no bridge, of course we would choose a smaller bridge,” said Jackie Tate, a member of the Community Task Force advising the county.

The refined design would have slightly more space for bicyclists and pedestrians than the existing bridge, but less for motor vehicles. There would be a bus-only lane, as on the current bridge.

The revised design could impact commuters, task force member Susan Lindsay said.

“The reduction of the actual width was a concern to all of us,” said Lindsay, who represents the Buckman Community Association.

The policy group includes local, state and federal elected officials. All who spoke at Thursday’s meeting endorsed the revised design.

Multnomah County is pushing to replace the iconic bridge because it’s believed to be at risk of collapse in a strong earthquake.

The project comes as other mega-projects in the region move toward construction, most notably the $1.2 billion Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project and the $4.5 billion Interstate Bridge Replacement Program. The projects come as supply chain clogs and economic shocks lend uncertainty to pricing forecasts. The project teams could also end up competing for limited materials and labor.

Megan Neill, a county spokeswoman, said the county had given its finance officials an $895 million project budget from “soup to nuts,” including design and construction.

“It was very challenging to arrive at this number given all the fluctuations in materials and labor,” she said.

In January, the task force recommended a bascule movable span and a girder structure for the west approach, saving $45 million to $75 million.

The Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project would be funded by a mix of federal, state and local funds.

To pay for a portion of the project, county officials are considering pursuit of multiple federal grants, including via the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Infrastructure Project Assistance or “megaprojects” program and the Bridge Investment Program. All are part of the 2021 federal infrastructure bill.

From the state, the county could garner funds from the Oregon Department of Transportation‘s local agency bridge program, Neill said.

Locally, the project would leverage approximately $300 million in revenue from vehicle license fees. There’s also the possibility of a 2024 regional transportation ballot measure that would follow one rejected by voters in November 2020.

The Burnside Bridge replacement project faces a major shortfall until those funds are secured. The county, Neill said, is “still looking for about $500 million to $600 million on this project, so we’ll always be fundraising.”

The county is working on procurement documents for a construction manager/general contractor, Neill said.

A supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement will be published in late April or early May for public input, county spokesman Mike Pullen stated. The Environmental Impact Statement remains on track and is anticipated to be ready in December. HDR is consulting on the project.

The Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to take up the revised design on March 17.

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The Community Task Force for the Burnside Bridge replacement project has endorsed three cost-saving measures that would reduce the price tag by $185 million to $240 million.

The group’s unanimous vote Monday was in favor of a girder-style structure (instead of a tied-arch or cable-supported span) for the west approach as well as a bascule movable span like the one on the existing bridge.

The task force also supported narrowing the original proposed bridge width in order to save approximately $165 million; that is the greatest cost reduction among the three measures. The number of vehicular lanes would be reduced from five to four, and the bicyclist and pedestrian lane would be reduced from 20 feet to roughly 14-17 feet.

However, most task force members stated their votes for the width reduction came more from a sense of urgency to accelerate the project than from strong support for the lane reduction. Many of them acknowledged that if the new Burnside Bridge were the only Willamette River crossing left standing following a major earthquake, the additional vehicle lane and larger bicyclist-pedestrian lane would be needed.

“It’s nuts to not have that,” said Susan Lindsay, a Buckman Community Association representative.

Without the cost-saving measures the project’s cost would be in the $1 billion range, but only $300 million is available. Task force members requested a return to the original proposed bridge width if enough funding becomes available.

The project team has identified four potential national funding opportunities via the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:

• $12.5 billion Federal Highway Administration competitive grant program for nationally significant bridges and other bridges
• $8.78 billion PROTECT (Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation) grant program
• $15 billion megaprojects grant program, and the
• $15 billion RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant program

But for the megaprojects grant, the Burnside Bridge project team would need to make a case that it’s a significant regional project. Plus, it would compete with the Interstate Bridge Replacement program.

Monday’s meeting was the first of a series this year to finalize the design of a new Burnside Bridge. The cost-saving measures will now go before the Multnomah County Policy Group in March for review and potential approval. Then they would go before the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners.

The board last week approved use of the construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) contract method for the project.

The county plans to issue a request for CM-GC proposals this summer, said Megan Neill, the project manager and engineering services manager with the transportation division. The goal is to have a CM-GC under contract by this fall, when the final design phase will begin.

If funding is secured, construction will start in 2025.

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With a price tag for a new Burnside Bridge exceeding $800 million, and only $300 million available, a community task force met Tuesday night seeking cost-reducing measures.

A long span was chosen as the preferred option earlier in the planning process. This would be a movable bridge in the same location and with the same length but with a support structure above the roadway and fewer columns below.

Currently, Multnomah County has access to about $300 million for the project via vehicle registration fees. The goal is to reduce the financial gap and make it easier to find additional funding sources.

Potential cost-reduction measures include:

• reducing the bridge’s overall width by eliminating a vehicle lane and providing bicyclist and pedestrian space of at least 14 feet wide on the side with a crash-barrier (savings: approximately $140 million-$165 million);
• selecting a ‘girder’ structure type for the west approach that would place two rows of support columns (fewer than at present) in Waterfront Park (savings: $5 million-$10 million); and
• adding a row of support columns on the east approach inside the Burnside Skatepark or adjacent to it for the tied arch (savings: $15 million-$20 million).

Altogether, these measures could reduce the project cost by 20 percent, county communications coordinator Mike Pullen said.

Of the three, adding a ‘girder’ structure on the west approach is the least controversial. Both the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission and Design Commission endorse this structure type because it doesn’t conflict with the historic district’s lower building heights or impede the view of the famous “Portland, Oregon” (White Stag) sign.

This choice would mean the new Burnside Bridge would be asymmetrical, Pullen said.

Though reduction of the bridge’s overall width to roughly 85 feet would be the “granddaddy” of cost-saving measures, Pullen said, the loss of a traffic lane concerned most task force members. That measure would greatly reduce the cost of materials because the bridge would be smaller and the stabilizers holding it up wouldn’t need to be so large.

“If you make it narrower it is a lot less material,” Pullen said.

To see if this option would even be feasible, the project team needs to estimate future traffic demand for the bridge and see if a reversible lane could be added.

Effects of potentially adding a row of support columns on the east approach also generated concerns. If a tied arch is needed, columns would need to be placed either in the Burnside Skatepark (not ideal, Pullen said) or in the street, which would become narrower.

The project team will spend the next several months evaluating each proposed cost-reduction measure and give recommendations to the task force in the fall. Bridge construction is not expected to start until 2025, Pullen said.

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Construction of a new Burnside Bridge may force the closure of the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade for up to 30 months. With the esplanade potentially sidelined for years, some advocates want to reconsider what the Portland public path can be.

Willie Levenson of the Human Access Project is pushing for a remake of the esplanade that would provide “toes in the water” access to the Willamette River. That would be accomplished with terraced steps.

“Terraced seating is a concept that is found regionally, nationally and internationally,” Levenson stated in written comments submitted to Multnomah County. “It is a very elegant way to acknowledge the highs and lows of a river and flood control seasonally, while providing passive recreational opportunities. As the river rises, stairs will be underwater. As the river lowers, more stairs are revealed. This serves as an alternative to riprap armoring and offers better functionality.”

Levenson is presenting the concept as appropriate mitigation for the closure of the esplanade. He’s had several discussions with county and city officials, and submitted his ideas, complete with an architectural rendering and images of precedents from around the world, as a public comment for the Burnside Bridge project’s draft environmental impact statement.

Levenson said it’s too early to discuss his ideas for changes to the esplanade, and declined to discuss the proposal in detail.

“This is something we are doing for fun,” he said. “We know it’s a long shot, but you just never know. We are looking for the right engineer and surveyor to join our volunteer team.”

But in addition to the public comments he submitted to Multnomah County, Levenson has shopped his proposal widely to local government officials and other stakeholders such as the Central Eastside Industrial Council.

“We ran this by (Bureau of Environmental Services staffers); they love the plan,” Levenson said during a CEIC meeting in March. “(Parks & Recreation) loves the plan. We are getting nothing but support for this idea.”

The idea to enhance the 1.5-mile pathway comes as it is being squeezed by major road and bridge projects. The esplanade, a key north-south connection for bicycle commuters and recreational users, sits among key transportation infrastructure, hemmed in by Interstate 5, bridges to the north and south and the river itself.

The county’s drive to build a new Burnside Bridge is expected to lead to construction beginning in 2025. The esplanade, which passes directly underneath the bridge, could close and reopen throughout the construction timeline.

“It could be several different periods,” said Mike Pullen, spokesman for Multnomah County. “We know that’s way too long for people who use the esplanade, so we’re trying to reduce that as much as we can, but we also need to keep workers safe and the public safe.”

The esplanade will need to be closed when the existing span is removed, and again at certain points when the new bridge is installed, Pullen said.

Completed in 2001, the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade is used for 1,500 bike trips and 1,550 pedestrian trips daily, according to the county. Those numbers are expected to rise to 2,650 for bikes and 2,700 for pedestrians by 2045.

In the two decades since, the pathway has become a much-loved part of Portland’s transportation infrastructure. It is used by bicyclist and pedestrian commuters as well as downtown workers looking for exercise. On Monday, the path was filled with walkers, runners, bicyclists, people on scooters and one worker painting over graffiti.

David Stein, a Portland bicycle advocate, said he’s urged county officials to minimize closures and provide more direct detours.

“The esplanade represents a really high-quality, low-stress bikeway and walkway, and it’s being replaced by a significantly more circuitous route that’s higher stress,” said Stein, who serves as chairman of the Transportation Bureau’s Bicycle Advisory Committee but was speaking as an individual.

Stein said he was disappointed with the planned disruptions to the esplanade, particularly compared to the minimal closures expected for the adjacent interstate.

“It really puts into contrast the ease of which it’s possible to deprioritize active modes of transportation,” he said.

The esplanade is owned by the city of Portland and overseen by Portland Parks & Recreation, with the Bureau of Transportation and other city bureaus playing significant roles.

It’s unclear at this point if county and city officials will buy in to Levenson’s concept. He did not advance a cost estimate in his public comments.

“It’s way beyond what we were planning in terms of scale, but it’s an interesting concept,” Pullen said of Levenson’s proposal.

Portland Parks & Recreation isn’t planning to remake the esplanade at this time, spokesman Mark Ross stated in an email.

“Portland Parks & Recreation doesn’t have any pending plans for major work along the esplanade,” he stated. “We are working closely with Multnomah County as they plan for Burnside Bridge work and ODOT … on their respective plans in the area. We appreciate the Human Access Project’s continued advocacy.”

Parks & Recreation has a degree of leverage to demand mitigation for any impacts to the esplanade. A provision in the federal Department of Transportation Act requires construction to avoid impacts to parks, and to mitigate any impacts that cannot be avoided. In the case of the recent Sellwood Bridge project, for example, Multnomah County mitigated impacts by paying for new trees to be planted at the bridge’s west end.

It’s unclear what mitigation will be required for the Burnside Bridge project.

“Before we construct the new bridge, we will work out these details with Portland Parks & Recreation,” Pullen said.

The county is also focused on improving connections between the proposed Burnside Bridge replacement and the esplanade. For now, there’s one staircase – an access point that is regarded as inadequate for disabled persons and nonmotorized vehicles.

“Any connection that is built between a new bridge and the esplanade will need support from the city in terms of approval,” Pullen said. “Who’s going to pay for it isn’t really known. The city is a huge player.”

The esplanade has survived other challenges. Last year, local outcry fended off a roadway widening proposed by the Oregon Department of Transportation that would have resulted in a larger I-5 looming over the esplanade.

The widening plan sparked protests by the city of Portland and citizens, who flooded ODOT with critical comments. In response, ODOT redesigned the project last year to eliminate construction in the Willamette River and the highway encroachment over the esplanade. Instead, ODOT plans to re-stripe I-5 in both directions, shift the highway median to the east and narrow the existing shoulders, according to the agency’s revised environmental assessment for the project.

ODOT considers the problem solved.

“We do not anticipate any impacts to the esplanade,” ODOT spokeswoman April de Leon-Galloway stated in an email.

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A public comment period has opened for a federal study on the project to replace the Burnside Bridge.

Members of the public may comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project. Multnomah County is planning to replace the bridge with a seismically resilient span.

County commissioners have opted for a “long span” replacement, but the design has not been finalized. The EIS is a key step in the project, and one required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Construction is expected to take about five years. The project may cost at least $825 million, according to county documents.

The draft EIS lays out a number of construction impacts, including closure of the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade for 18 months to 30 months and diversion of vehicle traffic onto the Morrison Bridge.

The current lift-span bridge, completed in 1926, is regarded as vulnerable to collapse during a severe earthquake.

Comments can be submitted online at , by email to Burnside-EIS@multco.us, or via mail to Burnside Draft EIS, 1403 S.E. Water Ave., Portland, OR 97214.

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Designers are searching far and wide for inspiration that will influence the look and function of the Burnside Bridge replacement.

At a meeting of the Burnside Bridge community task force earlier this week, project leadership showed examples of bridge design from around the world. The South Park Bridge in Seattle, the Indian River Bridge in Florida and the London Tower Bridge in England were discussed as excellent examples of various bridge types.

Paddy Tillett, a principal at ZGF Architecture, and Steve Drahota, vice president at engineering giant HDR’s Portland office, led the discussion, which was held virtually.

One bridge seemed to hold particular allure for Drahota: The Dagu Bridge in Tianjin, China, which opened in 2004 with an asymmetrical tied-arch design from T.Y. Lin International.

Drahota called the Dagu “an incredible bridge” and said the design is “something that has possibility for this (Burnside) bridge.”

Tillett and Drahota were quick to note that no decision has been made regarding the future Burnside Bridge’s design. Some aspects are becoming clear, however, including a three-span design. Designers are planning a west span of about 425 feet long, a movable main span of about 450 feet and an eastside span of about 650 feet in length that would bridge over interstates 5 and 84.

“In composition these three spans have to work together, yet are solving different types of engineering problems,” Drahota said.

The bridge will be about 115 feet wide to allow for ample space for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. “Burnside is not a freeway, but it’s an active city street and the bridge will be part of it,” Tillett said.

Multnomah County is moving forward with a replacement of the iconic 1926 bridge, which officials say is at risk of destruction during a strong earthquake. In October, county commissioners selected a “long-span” replacement option, citing its seismic resilience, lower cost of about $850 million and quicker construction timeline of about five years.

Tillett said the bridge has an architectural frame in downtown Portland that will influence the design. “Something that resembles a freeway ramp won’t do; it’s in the middle of a city,” he said.

A replacement Burnside Bridge is unlikely to resemble the existing span because of seismic concerns. Like the new Sellwood and Tilikum Crossing bridges, a replacement Burnside is expected to remain usable by emergency vehicles in the aftermath of a devastating Cascadia subduction zone quake.

Designers face a conundrum: The thinner the bridge deck is made, the stronger a support structure must be built atop the bridge, whether that’s cable stays, tied arches or another design scheme. The Harbor Bridge in Barcelona, for example, has tension ties that enable a thinner bridge deck but block certain views, Drahota said.

Certain bridge types have already been all but dismissed as unworkable in the Willamette River. A swing bridge, for one, would be costly, slow and require the entire river channel to be cleared of traffic, Drahota said. Diagonal, sail-shaped split spans also may not work for the Burnside’s length, he said.

The bridge must make space for neighboring buildings and allow for ships to pass underneath.

The project will be paid for by a mix of federal, state and local funding. Last year, county commissioners voted to nearly triple vehicle license fees to help pay for the new bridge.

The community task force will meet again on Dec. 7 and Dec. 21. The next landmark for the project will come when a draft environmental impact statement is released. That document is expected to arrive in January or February.

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