Prosper Portland has awarded $865,000 in Community Livability Grants for fiscal 2023-24. The 15 projects funded are in four tax increment districts or neighborhoods, leveraging more than $16 million in private investment. Seven projects are in Interstate Corridor, six are in Central Eastside, and there is one each in Gateway Regional Center and Lents Town Center.

Projects include the renovation of Literary Arts’ headquarters in the Central Eastside, safety improvements to DeRose Community Bridge & Holistic Wellness in Gateway, a build-out of Portland Youth Builders’ Technology Training Program, and expansion of the Cascade Aids Project in Interstate Corridor.

“Our investment in these community-serving projects demonstrates our commitment to the programs and initiatives of neighborhood districts that are vital to the city’s continued stabilization and growth,” Kimberly Branam, Prosper Portland executive director, said in a news release.

The evaluation committees for each area included representatives from community organizations, neighborhood and business associations and non-profit organizations as well as individual business owners and Prosper Portland staff.

The Community Livability Grant Program gives funding priority to projects that improve access to jobs and workforce development services; support wealth creation opportunities for small business owners; honor and enhance the neighborhood’s cultural diversity and history; deliver a community asset tailored to the community’s expressed priorities and opportunities; and advance goals of area-specific action plans.

Since 2006, Prosper Portland has awarded nearly $14 million to 245 community livability projects.

A full list of 2023-24 recipients can be found at .

The post 15 projects to get boost from Prosper Portland grants appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project has received a $5 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant.  It’s the first successful funding award for the project. Multnomah County applied for the grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in April.

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeffrey Merkley and U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici submitted a joint letter of support for the project.

The Burnside Bridge replacement project is expected to cost $895 million. The $5 million grant will “go towards advancing the design phase,” project manager Megan Neill stated in a press release.

Multnomah County has identified $300 million to contribute through its vehicle registration fee. Other funding opportunities are being sought to fill a $500 million-$600 million funding gap for construction. The county earlier this year applied for two large federal grants; it’s expected to receive responses in the fall and winter, respectively.

Multnomah County maintains the Burnside Bridge and leads the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge Project. The environmental review phase is on track to wrap up late this year. Design work will begin in spring 2023 and construction could begin as early as 2025, pending funding.

The post Federal dollars to help pay for megaproject’s design work appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Multnomah County is applying for $447 million from a federal grant program to help pay for construction of the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project.

The total cost of the project is $895 million. The intent of the project is to replace the existing bridge with one that can withstand a major earthquake.

Multnomah County is contributing $300 million through its vehicle registration fees and is seeking money to fill the additional $500 million-$600 million. The $447 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration‘s Bridge Investment Program would help cover that gap.

Megan Neill, project manager of the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project, stated during a board of commissioners meeting Thursday that the grant is specifically geared toward bridges that are in poor or deteriorating condition. The grant would be used during the construction phase and be spent over the 2025-2030 fiscal years. Neill expects to hear by early next spring whether the project will receive the grant.

The project is currently in the environmental review phase. The goal of the review is to understand the impacts of all options and choose one to design and build. The review is required by the National Environmental Policy Act, a federal law enacted in 1970 to promote the enhancement of the environment, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The review will help the county make an informed decision about what to design and build. It will provide better understanding of the trade-offs and inform the decision of which alternative best meets the needs of the project, while balancing environmental effects.

After several years of studying a wide range of alternatives, project leaders are proposing to replace the existing bridge with a new movable bridge along the same alignment, but with four travel lanes instead of the five the bridge has now, according to information provided by Transportation Public Information Officer Sarah Hurwitz. The new bridge will be a bascule-style movable bridge, like the current bridge, but will have either a tied arch or cable stay structure type on the longer east approach span over the freeways.

A cost savings analysis added about a year to the environmental review phase, which pushed the start date of the design phase to later this year. The final design phase will begin in early 2023. The project team will make final decisions on aesthetics such as whether it will be a cable stay or tied arch on the bridge deck.

Depending on when funds are secured, construction could begin in 2025.

Later this year, a Final Environmental Impact Statement will be published and the county will seek a Record of Decision from the Federal Highway Administration approving the Preferred Alternative. The project will then move into the design phase, followed by construction.

The post $447M grant sought for Burnside Bridge replacement appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.