Five filtration systems and 10 stormwater treatment facilities are in the works in Northwest Portland.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) infrastructure projects are intended to clean stormwater runoff from the Fremont Bridge, the St. Johns Bridge and elsewhere along U.S. Route 30.

“These new systems will connect into our current stormwater pipes to remove large debris such as trash and pollutants such as metals and oil from the water,” ODOT spokesperson David House stated in an email.

ODOT’s estimated total cost for design and construction is $37 million.

The five filtration systems will be next to the bridges, and the 10 stormwater treatment facilities will be along U.S. 30. All will collect stormwater from roadways and filter it before releasing it to the Willamette River between Sauvie Island and downtown Portland. Most sites are underground and will not be visible from roads and sidewalks, House stated.

“Rain from roads and other hard surfaces picks up trash, metals such as copper and lead, oil and other pollutants,” House stated. “When untreated, these pollutants wash into drains and nearby waterways diminishing water quality and habitat. Each filtration system we build will improve water quality in the Willamette River by removing large debris like trash and smaller pollutants like metals and oil before they reach the river.”

Project sites will include: the St. Johns Bridge, with two underground filtration systems (one beneath North Philadelphia Avenue on the east end and one beneath Northwest Knappton-General Road on the west end); the Fremont Bridge, with an aboveground filtration system at the base on the east end as well as an underground filtration system beneath the landscaping at the base on the west end; near the Willamette Greenway trail; and at the Fremont Bridge west ramps (at 1500 N.W. Raleigh St.), with an underground stormwater treatment system that includes a 12-foot-tall prefabricated control room and an approximately 20-foot-tall storage tank. Also, the underground treatment systems along U.S. 30 will be built in the highway shoulder between Northwest Nicolai Street and Northwest Marina Way.

WSP has produced project design and specifications for ODOT, according to House. That will allow flexibility in specific site solutions, which will be produced by the contractor for required reviews ahead of construction, he stated.

Bidding for a general contractor opened on Monday. ODOT expects to select a contractor by this spring, House stated.

Construction is expected to begin sometime this year and require approximately two years to complete.

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In a tentative vote, the Portland City Council unanimously upheld an appeal to deny the proposal for Lincoln Property Company’s Fremont Apartments, planned in the Pearl District between Northwest Naito Parkway and the Willamette River. The council will hold a final vote at 11 a.m. on April 4.

TVA Architects‘ design, with several modifications, received the Portland Design Commission‘s approval in December with a 3-1 vote. But the Pearl District Neighborhood Association (PDNA) appealed that decision, and got its opportunity to present arguments at a public hearing before the council in February.

“Because this is an iconic location, and because this building will set the standard for that location, I want us to set that standard very high,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who previously served on the city’s planning commission, said the proposed building’s height and its impact on views of the Fremont Bridge from Fields Park were not relevant to her decision. She brought up several concerns, including the height of the rooftop mechanical equipment, the reduced width of vertically-hung bicycle racks and the narrow width of the greenway by the building.

Overall, she said, plans do not meet city criteria with the modifications requested.

Wheeler and Commissioner Nick Fish agreed that the greenway in the proposed design would be too narrow.

“What we do here with this development will set the standard for the rest of the development that will take place along that corridor,” Wheeler said. “It is my belief that we need to aggressively protect the greenway.”

Fish mentioned the emerging greenway in the South Waterfront District as an example of a wider one, with dedicated spaces for bicyclists and pedestrians.

“You can make a very persuasive case that the fact that the buildings are set back further enhances the experience of the neighborhood, of the residents, and of the whole feeling of the emerging neighborhood,” Fish said, adding that the greenway in the Fremont Apartments design is unsatisfactory because of the narrow “choke point” at the southern end. “As someone who likes to ride his bike down by the river … that is not a successful greenway.”

Tim Wybenga of TVA Architects stated in an email that the project team has no specific plans on how to move forward at this point, but is looking at all options.

“For the project to have gone through all of that process and get rejected by council is extremely disheartening and frustrating,” he stated.

Wheeler noted that any development along that corridor will likely be tall.

“We are a growing city; there will be more height and there will be more density,” he said. “I believe this design team and this development team has the capacity and spades to be able to deliver a building that will meet their objectives as well as meet the community objectives and be celebrated for many, many generations to come.”

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