During planning many businesses told us their health and survival depended on the Sellwood Bridge remaining open during construction. Many business owners said they would lose customers during construction, due to the lack of nearby alternate river crossings if the Sellwood Bridge were closed. Nearby neighborhoods and traffic planners also warned of problems that would arise if the 30,000 vehicles that cross the bridge each day needed to detour to other congested bridges during construction.
These concerns led local jurisdictions to choose a preferred alternative that keeps a Sellwood Bridge open during several years of construction. Here’s how it works:
• In the first stage the first half of the new bridge is constructed along the south side of the existing bridge. Traffic continues to use the old bridge. At the end of this stage, traffic is shifted from the old bridge to the completed half of the new bridge, which will be about 33-feet wide. Current plans call for this narrow structure to have room for two 12-foot traffic lanes and one 8-foot sidewalk for bikes and pedestrians, but no shoulders or bike lanes. The old bridge is then removed.
• In the second stage, the second half of the new bridge is built where the old bridge used to stand. Traffic continues to use the completed half of the new bridge. By the end of this stage the two new halves of the bridge are connected, like two sides of a zipper.
The deck of the completed bridge will be 64 feet wide, with:
• Two 12-foot traffic lanes
• Two 6.5-foot shoulders/bike lanes
• Two 12-foot sidewalks
There will be brief periods during construction when the contractor will need to close the bridge to traffic. These include when lane markings are placed and when connections are completed between the bridge and SE Tacoma Street and Highway 43. The County will work with the contractor to limit bridge closures as much as possible. Bridge closures could be scheduled on weekends or evenings to minimize the impact on bridge users.
Keeping the Sellwood Bridge open is important to many local businesses and bridge users. Our plan should keep traffic flowing across the bridge as much as possible during construction.
