Sellwood, Burnside Bridge Closures
From the Public Affairs Office:
Burnside Bridge expected to reopen next week
The Burnside Bridge is expected to reopen to motor vehicles late next week after being closed several weeks to replace parts of a hinge that attaches the counterweight to the lift span. The bridge will not be ready to reopen on Monday, October 8 as originally planned. The target date for reopening is four or five days after October 8.
Replacing the counterweight hinge assembly is the most technically challenging repair in the two-year project. The repairs have taken longer than expected because the old parts were more difficult to remove than anticipated. Despite using different methods, the contractor was unable to remove parts of the hinge by pushing or pulling. Instead, the 13-inch diameter steel pins had to be slowly drilled out. After that initial delay, the 3.8 million pound counterweight was successfully lowered with a jacking system so that other parts could be removed and replaced.
Several night-time bridge closures will be needed to remove the jacking system after the bridge reopens to traffic. The current schedule calls for the bridge to be closed at night on October 12 and 13, but those dates are subject to change. The bridge remains open to pedestrians and bicyclists at most times. The closure to motor vehicles is required because vibrations from traffic could impact drilling operations and other work
The original counterweight hinge parts were worn and broken so that the hinge could not turn freely when the bridge opened for river traffic. If the hinge were to fail, the east lift span would not be able to open.
The two-year $9 million project is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. Multnomah County maintains the Burnside Bridge, five other Willamette River bridges, and more than 300 miles of road
Sellwood Bridge closed for inspection Sunday
The Sellwood Bridge will be closed to all motor vehicles on Sunday, October 7 from 7:00 am until as late as 7:00 pm during a structural inspection. Both traffic lanes need to be closed in order to station equipment used in the inspection.
Like all publicly owned bridges, the Sellwood Bridge gets a federally mandated structural inspection every two years. The biennial inspection began last month but could not be completed during a one-day bridge closure. Multnomah County also inspects sections of the bridge where problems have been identified every three months.
On Sunday the bridge sidewalk will remain open for bicyclists and pedestrians, although there may be short, intermittent delays for sidewalk users. For motor vehicles, the nearest alternate river crossing to the north is the Ross Island Bridge. Access to the Ross Island Bridge is available via US 43/SW Macadam Ave. on the west side and via SE Milwaukie Ave. and SE Powell Blvd. on the east side. The nearest bridges to the south are the Abernethy Bridge (I-205) and the Oregon City Bridge.
Multnomah County maintains the Sellwood Bridge, five other Willamette River bridges, and more than 300 miles of roads.
Posted on October 4, 2007
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